JURY CONVICTS FATHER FOR ABUSE OF 2-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

Victim Beaten, Bitten, Left with a Fractured Skull

Atlanta- Fulton County District Attorney Paul L. Howard, Jr. announces the conviction by jury trial in the child abuse case involving an Indiana father. 19-year old Donald Franklin was convicted Friday of Criminal Attempt to Commit Murder, Cruelty to Children, Aggravated Battery and Aggravated Assault for abusing his then two-year-old daughter. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27, 2011.

Fulton County Police were called to a home on Highgreen Trail in Atlanta on October 29, 2010 where they found young Kania Wilford unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital where she underwent extensive treatment and surgery. The victim’s head was disfigured and required several staples to close it. Her body was also covered with bruises and bite marks. Defendant Franklin initially told police that the child fell off of her bike and later claimed she fell out of the tub after a bath. After making several inconsistent statements he admitted to spanking and biting the child out of frustration because she would not go to sleep. The two were visiting relatives in Atlanta at the time of the incident. The child is now three years old and in child protective custody in Indiana. She still suffers from her injuries, is non-communicative and has trouble walking.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge John Goger presided over the case. It was prosecuted by Senior District Attorney Daysha Young of the Crimes Against Women and Children Unit with assistance from Senior ADA Sonja Brown and DA Investigator Greg Patterson. Detectives Benefield and Holt of the Fulton County Police Department led the initial investigation.

Media Contact: Yvette Brown, 404-224-0560/404-392-8867, yvette.brown@fultoncountyga.gov