The caretakers of a 7-year-old boy are charged with first-degree cruelty to children after they allegedly hid his death from authorities.
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the agency received a call on Thursday, October 1, about a child who had been dead for roughly two days.
Investigators then responded to a home at the Hampton Lakes Subdivision near Highway 49 in Jones County, where they encountered the boy’s caretakers, identified as George Togeg and Reva Ogles, WMAZ-TV.
Jones County Sheriff Butch Reece confirmed to the TV station that Togeg was the boy’s father.
Although Togeg and Ogles were both “aware that the child had died on Tuesday,” neither of them “contacted law enforcement or requested medical assistance until Thursday evening,” the sheriff’s office said in the release, which only identified them as the boy’s “caretakers.”
They were both initially arrested on a charge of concealing a death, according to authorities.
As the investigation progressed, they were additionally charged with first-degree cruelty to children, the sheriff’s office said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the boy died.
The results of an autopsy that will determine his cause and manner of death are pending, according to authorities.
The sheriff’s office said “additional charges may be added as the investigation continues and additional information becomes available.”
Information on whether Togeg and Ogles retained legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
Following their arrests, they were booked at the Jones County Jail. Jones County is about an 85-mile drive southeast from Atlanta.
“This is a tragic case involving the death of a child, and we ask that the child’s family and loved ones be kept in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said.
A person convicted of concealing a death in Georgia would face a prison sentence between one and 10 years, and a fine between $1,000 and $5,000, according to the Office of Lawson and Berry, a law firm based in Sandy Springs.
If someone is found guilty of first-degree cruelty to children, the firm notes that they’d face between five and 20 years in prison.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
