A 3-year-old Georgia girl died after suffering what police described as a heinous sexual assault and beating.
Janiyah Armanie Brooks was unresponsive when Albany police responded to her home one week ago. She had been severely beaten with injuries to her head, ribs and hands, according to police. She also had injuries to her vaginal area.
It wasn’t the first time Janiyah had been hurt, an investigation by the agency’s family protection unit and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services found. An exam showed further evidence of old wounds, Albany police said in a news release.
Her parents called 911 around 7:30 a.m. May 13, but they did not disclose the nature of the problem with their daughter. Her stepfather, 20-year-old Gregory Parker, only told officers the girl was unconscious, police said.
Parker was arrested Friday in connection with the assault. The next day, Janiyah died, local news station WALB reported. She had been on a ventilator at an Atlanta hospital.
Albany police announced her death on Facebook.
“Three-year-old Janiyah Armanie Brooks, gone but not forgotten,” the department said in a post above a smiling photo of the child.
Parker was initially arrested on charges of aggravated child molestation, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery and first-degree cruelty to children. Police have not said if additional charges will be filed in light of his stepdaughter’s death.
Credit: Albany Police Department
Credit: Albany Police Department
The child’s mother, 19-year-old Crystal Brooks, is also facing charges.
“After being questioned, investigators discovered Brooks not only knew about the child being harshly treated by Parker but was also present,” police said in a Friday afternoon news release.
Brooks was charged as a party to the crime on allegations of aggravated battery, battery, first-degree cruelty to children and giving a false statement to police.
Medical examiners are scheduled to perform an autopsy on Janiyah on Monday.
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