SC Father Gets 50 Years; Alabama Man Sentenced

In South Carolina, 28-year-old Ian Tatro of Wellford pleaded guilty to 20 counts of unlawful neglect of a child and one count of obstruction of justice and was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge R. Keith Kelly to 50 years in prison for the prolonged torture of his 8-year-old daughter. Prosecutors and court documents describe horrific abuse — including being forced to eat cat food and animal feces, being force-fed laxatives, beaten with boards, frying pans and cords, made to kneel in crates, hidden with temporary tattoos to conceal bruises, and told her father wished he could kill her — which led to hospitalization and emergency protective custody. Tatro’s co-defendant and the child’s stepmother, Tenika Draper, previously pleaded guilty and received a 35-year sentence, while charges against co-defendants Trina Draper and Ryan Dezotelle remain pending; 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry J. Barnette called the abuse “staggering.” Separately in Alabama, 55-year-old Christopher Kyle Haynes entered a blind plea to sex-crime charges involving a victim abused beginning at age 12 and was sentenced to 20 years after prosecutors said the abuse continued until she was 16. Victims’ statements and medical findings were cited in both prosecutions as evidence of severe harm.