Local couple charged with cruelty to children

HIAWASSEE, Ga. – On Thursday, Sept. 13, a criminal investigator with the Hiawassee Police Department responded to a residence on Rolling Acres Road to meet with Towns County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) concerning an alleged child abuse case.

According to Hiawassee Police Department records, DFCS stated to the investigator that a report had been made by one of the children living at the residence to Towns County School officials and the Towns County Sheriff’s Office regarding physical abuse.

DFCS relayed to the investigator that there were three children in the household, living at the residence with their mother, Kristen Renee Watson, and father/step-father Joey Malone Johnson. Furthermore, it was discovered that another family resided in the home, consisting of a mother and her three children.

Upon investigation, Joey Malone Johnson, 32, and Kristen Renee Watson, 26, were arrested and charged with three counts of cruelty to children, first degree.

The three children involved in the investigation were removed from the home by DFCS.

The investigation is active and ongoing.

The suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

 

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