'I shouldn't f—ing be here': Sheriff's daughter who repeatedly slammed 13-month-old girl into cot at day care learns her fate

A Tennessee pistillate and onetime time attraction idiosyncratic volition walk decades down bars for injuries she inflicted connected a 13-month-old nether her care.

In October, Sarah Jo Fuson, 24, was convicted by a assemblage successful Dickson County connected 1 number each of aggravated kid maltreatment and child abuse.

On Thursday, the suspect was sentenced by 23rd Circuit Court Judge David Wolfe to 20 years successful situation without the anticipation of parole implicit her actions that near the toddler successful question with an wounded to her head. Fuson was additionally assessed a four-year condemnation which volition tally concurrently, oregon astatine the aforesaid time.

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During the sentencing hearing, the justice utilized the defendant's ain words against her to accent the severity of the case, according to a courtroom study by Nashville-based ABC affiliate WKRN.

"On aggregate occasions the suspect made the statement, and I'm going to punctuation it precisely arsenic it's written… 'I shouldn't F–ing beryllium here, I didn't bash anything,'" Wolfe said.

The justice went connected to accidental the sentencing proceeding was the archetypal clip helium had seen Fuson look to explicit immoderate benignant of remorse for her actions.

"She called the victim's parent a liar," Wolfe continued. "She reported she wasn't allowed visits astatine the jailhouse and that her household needs to writer the jailhouse truthful she tin get retired of there. She besides discussed however the nutrient 'sucked' and she truly wanted a Dr. Pepper."

In April 2023, Fuson, the girl of Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson, was indicted successful her location region — the aforesaid region wherever the time attraction halfway successful question is located. In August 2024, the lawsuit was removed to Dickson County owed to her father's position.

The underlying incidental occurred successful January 2023, astatine the Tylertown Learning Center successful Clarksville, according to authorities.

During Fuson's trial, prosecutors showed a video belatedly discovered by time attraction unit that showed the child's caput being slammed into a cot. Medical experts testified a CT scan showed areas connected the victim's caput perchance indicating a "concussion oregon skull fracture."

The video was discovered aft the babe miss came location from the time attraction with "marks and bruises connected her arms," according to the charging papers prepared by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and obtained by WKRN. The child's parents complained and Fuson was subsequently fired earlier the transgression probe began.

The footage shows the suspect initially grabbing the kid by her arms to reposition her successful a precocious chair, according to a courtroom study by Clarksville Now. Later, arsenic the kid kept resisting nap time, Fuson is seen grabbing her and slamming her down connected the cot implicit and over. On the eighth and last shove, the baby's caput lands adjacent the borderline of the cot and the kid does not determination again until waking from her nap. Witnesses reportedly disagreed astir whether oregon not the child's caput really made interaction with the hard, integrative borderline of the cot.

The defense, for its part, argued that misinformation rapidly dispersed astir the severity of the child's injuries — saying the miss did not, successful fact, endure a skull fracture from the incident.

But the assemblage sided with the state.

In an allocution, Fuson addressed her behaviour and apologized.

"I didn't recognize that I was being unsmooth with Olivia successful the moment," the convicted pistillate said. "I admit that I was unsmooth with her and regret my conduct. To Olivia and her parents, I americium truthful precise atrocious that this happened and what this has enactment your household through."

Fuson's parent besides spoke connected her behalf.

"Sarah is not a propulsion distant person, she is kind, she is generous, she is loving," the defendant's parent said. "As her family, we request her, we beryllium connected her, and we volition person a large spread astatine our array and successful our hearts until she is returned location to us."

The victim's parent besides spoke — and seemingly offered a much convincing narrative.

"Your honor, I inquire the tribunal to retrieve that down this lawsuit is simply a existent child," the girl's parent said. "A babe who was frightened, abused, and betrayed. I inquire the tribunal to afloat recognize the deep, lasting harm that this has caused to Olivia and our family. She deserved to consciousness safe, she deserved to beryllium protected."