Marie Terry, a candidate for East Point City Council Ward B, has been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree child cruelty.
Her response LIVE on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m.
Terry is accused of abusing her three foster children by hitting them with a skillet, a plastic baseball bat and a wooden grill scraper.
She is also accused of forcing them to eat cat litter.
“That’s crazy. Why would a mother do her kids like that,” said Samuel Farley, a resident of East Point, told Channel 2’s Tom Jones.
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Former East Point Mayor Earnestine Pittman defended Terry and claimed the children were lying after Terry attempted to relinquish guardianship.
“She is not guilty,” Pittman said.
The allegations have disturbed many residents in East Point, with some expressing their intent to remove Terry’s campaign signs from their yards.
Angel Howard, a local worker, described the alleged actions as “totally disrespectful.”
According to police, the foster children, aged 13 to 17, would run away and eventually reported the alleged abuse after they could no longer endure it.
Terry’s attorney said she categorically denies the charges and plans to fight them in court, asserting her innocence.
Terry was booked into the Fulton County Jail and released on a $15,000 bond.
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