Mother in 'child torture' case gets 20 years

PANAMA CITY — A mother of a child found unresponsive in a car outside the Bay County Courthouse has been sentenced to 20 years in prison while her boyfriend and alleged accomplice in the case proceeds toward trial.

Hallee Ann McLeod, 28, recently was sentenced in Elmore County, Alabama, to the maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a local judge held little back in his opinion of her. McLeod and her boyfriend, 39-year-old Scott Thomas Hicks, have been identified as accomplices in what some authorities have called a case of “child torture,” which started with Hicks’ arrest in Bay County in September 2015 after finding a 4-year-old bloodied and unresponsive in his car. Hicks remains in Bay County on a $225,000 bond, awaiting a trial date now scheduled for Nov. 14.

McLeod later was charged in Alabama with child abuse and chemical endangerment of a child for allegedly keeping methamphetamine around her son. She was sentenced this week after pleading guilty in August to charges that she and Hicks beat the child, particularly by throwing him to the ground and kicking him between his legs.

As McLeod wept in the courtroom, Judge Ben Fuller, of Elmore County, called the tearful defendant “evil” before the sentencing and added, “The Lord will forgive, but I don’t know who else will.”

Fuller told McLeod he would have sentenced her to life in prison without parole if the law permitted. The case inspired Alabama lawmakers to push for the possibility of life in prison for aggravated child abuse cases. Although McLeod asked for leniency, Fuller sentenced her to the maximum and scorned the mother for her role in what appeared to be repeat offenses.

According to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Hicks arrived at the courthouse the morning of Sept. 17, 2015, to resolve two outstanding arrest warrants for failure to appear for a battery charge. While he was being booked, Hicks told the bailiff he needed to hurry because he said he had a child in the car waiting for him, BCSO reported.

Deputies immediately went to Hicks’ vehicle in the parking lot to get the child but could see no one inside. A deputy then spotted a blanket in the back seat and the legs of a small child sticking out from underneath. Deputies found the 4-year-old boy under the blanket, unresponsive, eyes open, with dried blood on his lips and a laceration on his head, they reported.

Officials estimated he had been left alone in the vehicle for about 90 minutes.

EMS arrived to find the boy — the son of McLeod, who was dating Hicks — was severely dehydrated. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment, where the full extent of his injuries became known. He was found to have “extensive and severe bruising” all over his body, particularly on and around his genitals, deputies reported.

McLeod arrived at the hospital that afternoon and allegedly admitted she and Hicks had caused the injuries. Investigators determined the child had received the injuries in Elmore County and arrested McLeod when she returned.

The child was turned over to a family member.

Hicks recently filed a motion to dismiss the charges, saying he did not know the extent of child’s injuries other than that he was suffering from a digestive issue and had a laceration to his forehead. He also denied being involved in the infliction of the injuries and questioned whether they resulted in “great bodily harm,” a requirement to establish aggravated child abuse.

Hicks’ next court date is scheduled for Nov. 10.