NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. (TCD) — A mother will spend 30 years behind bars for torturing her three stepchildren, forcing them to do extreme exercises, and withholding food from them.
According to a news release from the Newton County District Attorney’s Office, a judge sentenced Nora Rodgers on Dec. 12 to 60 years of probation with the first 30 years to be served in prison after she pleaded guilty in October to nine counts of first-degree cruelty to children. Rodgers admitted that she had inflicted “physical, mental, and emotional abuse” on her three stepchildren.
On Oct. 4, 2020, a concerned relative called to request a welfare check on the kids. Law enforcement officials responded to the home, where they found the underage victims with “bruising, swelling, and physical marks,” suggesting they had been beaten. One of the children, a 9-year-old boy, reportedly had a black eye and severe bruising to his legs, while an 8-year-old girl had apparent bruising all over her body. Officers also observed marks on the 8-year-old girl from possible “physical punishments.”
According to the district attorney’s office, the 6-year-old child in the home sustained the worst physical injuries, including scrapes, swelling, and bruising. Additionally, the 6-year-old girl suffered a broken elbow and “severe internal injuries from the beatings that could have led to her death.”
The 6-year-old was transported to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s trauma unit, where she underwent medical treatment.
The children reportedly “suffered torture under the guise of punishment” over the years. Rodgers reportedly made her stepchildren do “extreme bootcamp-style exercises,” including laps, squats with “large logs,” for extended periods of time to the “point of exhaustion and injury.”
Further investigation revealed Rodgers had forced the children to do the exercises in the middle of the night, as well as in the summer heat. If they didn’t perform the exercises how Rodgers wanted, she would reportedly beat them. According to the district attorney’s office, Rodgers would also “spar with the children, striking and hitting them.”
According to the statement, Rodgers withheld adequate food from the children as punishment, and they were all malnourished as a result. Rodgers reportedly gave the children time limits to eat food and would often blend solid foods to make the victims eat faster.
The Department of Human Services Division of Family and Children Services had reportedly responded to the home previously and told Rodgers not to subject the children to the extreme exercises or punishment.
In addition to the three stepchildren, Rodgers had three biological children of her own living in the home, but she did not physically punish them, nor did she withhold food from her biological kids. All children in the home were removed and placed into the custody of foster care.
During Rodgers’ sentencing, the stepchildren, foster parents, a social worker, and the victims’ grandmother made statements regarding the abuse and how it “deeply affected the children.”
Newton District Attorney Randy McGinley said in a statement, “The dedicated work of the prosecution team led to a result that guarantees that the victims will be well into adulthood before Rodgers gets out of prison. The DA’s Office sought justice for the victims but also that Rodgers would be in prison long enough that she could not harm these children or any other children.”
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