Marcel Moreland booking photo (Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office)
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - A 27-year-old Cobb County man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole plus 490 years after pleading guilty to raping and sexually abusing a 1-month-old infant.
What we know:
Marcel Moreland, 27, entered a non-negotiated plea to 25 felony counts including rape, child molestation, incest and repeated sexual exploitation of an infant, according to District Attorney Sonya Allen.
Cobb Superior Court Judge Robert Leonard handed down the sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus 490 years.
The victim was repeatedly abused and exploited starting when she was just a month old, and the abuse continued until she was six months old.
What they're saying:
"This sentence sends a clear message: if you prey upon our children, we will pursue you with every tool the law gives us," Allen said. "There are crimes that shock the conscience, and the sexual abuse and exploitation of an infant is among the most unimaginable. This child deserved protection from the person entrusted to care for her. Instead, she was victimized in the most horrific way."
Allen added that her office will not apologize for being relentless when protecting children.
"Brittany carried the heavy responsibility of speaking in court for a child – a baby, who could not speak for herself," Allen said, praising Assistant District Attorney Brittany Hutton and her trial team. "Her work ensured that the court understood the full gravity of what was done to this child and why accountability mattered."
What we don't know:
Officials have not publicly disclosed the exact relationship between Moreland and the infant, nor have they released details on how authorities first uncovered the abuse.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a press release issued by the Cobb County District Attorney's Office.