McDonough couple Adrian and Tamani Burton charged with child cruelty

Henry County police arrested a McDonough couple for allegedly disciplining their 14-year-old son by forcing him to kneel on concrete blocks while holding a shovel over his head.

Adrian Wesly Burton, 35, and the boy's stepmother, Tamani Miller Burton, 36, were taken into custody Thursday night at their Kensington Pointe subdivision home and charged with four counts of child cruelty. They were held Friday night in the Henry County Jail on $25,000 bond each.

Lt. Jason Bolton said the 14-year-old boy was visiting maternal relatives in Missouri during Thanksgiving when someone noticed infected wounds on his legs and called police. Bolton said the most recent incidents of suspected abuse occurred from September to November.

The boy, whose mother died when he was young, remains in Missouri, Bolton said. Three of Miller Burton's children, ages 2 to 15, also live in the McDonough home but police don't think they were injured. They have been placed with relatives.

Bolton said the father also forced the boy to stand holding a shovel over his head, and if the boy wavered, the father would punch the youth in the stomach, Bolton said. That caused the 14-year-old to spit blood, which finally led the stepmother to convince the father to stop, Bolton said.