CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A Cherokee County man will spend years in prison after he was found guilty of cruelty to children.
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In May, after a three-day trial, a Cherokee County jury found Lior Talker, 44, of Canton, guilty of cruelty to children in the first degree.
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office began its investigation in February 2024, after a hospital social worker called 911 to report suspected child abuse.
Investigators said earlier that day, a boy, who was under the age of 10, told his counselor that Talker had burned him on his back with a cigarette.
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Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta medical staff spotted a circular wound on the boy’s back that was consistent with a cigarette burn. The boy and his younger sister participated in forensic interviews at the Anna Crawford Children’s Center.
On Thursday, a judge sentenced Talker to 20 years with the first 10 years to be served in prison and the remainder on probation.
“Trial evidence showed that the defendant burned the child in anger, pressing a cigarette into the center of the child’s back and holding it there,” said Assistant District Attorney David Bailey, who prosecuted this case on behalf of the State. “This act was not accidental or impulsive; it was malicious, calculated, and cruel.”
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