From Chattanooga Times Free Press: A Tellico Plains, Tennessee, man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to child abus
From Chattanooga Times Free Press: A Tellico Plains, Tennessee, man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to child abuse charges in Meigs County.
James Lance, 21, of Hunt Coppenger Lane, Tellico Plains, entered the plea Friday before Meigs County Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks, who handed down the sentence, according to a statement from District Attorney Russell Johnson.
The conviction and sentencing stems from a probe by the Decatur Police Department and the DA’s Internet Crimes Against Children investigators, Cortney Dugger and Chanel Finnel, into allegations that Lance abused his 1-month-old son, who was in the custody of the infant’s mother, according to the statement.
According to Johnson, the mother had been noticing injuries to the baby’s legs and set up a surveillance camera in her home to monitor what Lance did while he was responsible for the baby’s care when the mother was at work. Video footage showed Lance striking and abusing the young child, which resulted in injuries that included broken ribs and significant bruising.
The child has since recovered from his injuries and is doing well by all accounts and is in the custody of a family member, Johnson said. Assistant District Attorney Jed Bassett prosecuted the case, and Lance was represented by Madisonville attorney Steve Ward.
