Thomas v. State

Eldridge, Judge.

A Decatur County jury found Roderick Donnell Thomas guilty of cruelty to children, which charge arose when Thomas beat a four-year-old boy with a belt, causing serious injury to the child. Thomas appeals and, in his sole enumeration, claims error in the admission of alleged hearsay testimony concerning statements made by a child/witness to the incident, i.e., the victim’s six-year-old brother, D. C. Finding no error, we affirm.

Under OCGA § 24-3-16, the “Child Hearsay Statute,”

A statement made by a child under the age of 14 years describing any act of sexual contact or physical…