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– one for every child that was harmed – and a misdemeanor count of battery, then released on bond. When indicted, Cabrera was officially charged with the nine counts of cruelty to children in the first degree and two counts of aggravated battery.

On November 28, 2023, police were first alerted to the possibility of child cruelty by the victims’ parents, who also alerted the daycare of the situation. Parents and family members said that they first became aware of the issue after noticing bumps and other marks on their babies’ heads after picking them up, and spoke with the daycare about the issue. Recognizing the severity of the situation, these families then reached out to law enforcement, notifying them of the suspected cruelty. The investigation began that same night.

Parent Brianna Lopez was the first witness on the stand on July 16, as she recounted her discovery of her 5-month-old daughter’s injuries. Lopez said that in addition to noticing bruises and cuts on her daughter, she also witnessed Cabrera bring her daughter from the classroom – which parents were not allowed to enter – screaming when Lopez picked her daughter up that day.

“It was a cry that I had never heard before,” Lopez told the court, as she stated that when she asked about why her daughter was upset, Cabrera told her that another child had “gotten a hold of her.”

Lopez spoke with the daycare’s co-director, who allowed her to review the surveillance footage of the classroom that day. “They had already seen what had happened and had the clips ready,” Lopez explained. “She was in a bumbo seat [on the floor], and Cabrera was on her phone. My daughter tried to grab a toy and fell. In frustration, [Cabrera] slammed [my daughter] down until she sat down.”

Lopez recounted other incidents she watched on the surveillance, such as when Cabrera bent the infant’s neck all the way back and forcibly fed her with a spoon while frustrated, yanked an infant into the swing by her legs, and inappropriately held the child by her head as her body dangled. “There could have been more incidents, but that is as far as we saw,” Lopez told the court.

The single mother explained that this abuse had greatly affected her daughter, as she would not allow anyone with similar hair color or physical stature as Cabrera to get near her. The child also struggles with trusting other people since the incident, and even had developmental delays that are believed to have come from the abuse.

Lopez’s mother Renee Page also spoke about the infant’s delays, as she stated that since beginning the daycare when she was around 5-7 weeks old, Lopez’s daughter kept her arms curled against her body and did not interact with her family as a typical infant would. “I have noticed from the time that she was enrolled to the day of [the abuse discovery] she was delayed. She couldn’t grab toys – she could barely hold her head up,” Page added. Page said that the child had to undergo speech and physical therapy, and was unable to hold her own bottle until she was 11 months old.

“Not only was she physically abused, but she was neglected,” Page continued, as she told the court that her granddaughter had lain in a bouncer seat for 4 hours at one time without any attention.

The grandmother shared more of the lasting impacts of this abuse on the child, as she informed the court that the child turns her head away from a spoon because she is traumatized from the forcible feedings, and that she only touches others when she wants to. “She doesn’t like touch – she will touch when she wants a hug. She just doesn’t trust people,” Page remarked.

Page quoted a passage of scripture that reads, “Vengeance is mine says the Lord,” as she emphasized the anguish of the situation.

“If I could unsee the images and videos, I would, but I can’t,” Page stressed. “I sat and watched [Lopez] cry over and over and there was nothing I could do.”

She spoke to Cabrera, saying, “You took part of [my granddaughter’s] innocence that day – you introduced her to the evil of the world. She had to learn to trust her own mother. We had to teach her that she was loved and adored. You blame others for your own actions, but you chose to act like this. Today isn’t about you or me – it’s about these children who don’t have a voice. We are their voice, and we will protect them, and we will not stand for this evil.”

Iletha Holland took the stand to address the court on behalf of her son, who was less than a year old when the incident occurred.

“This is not easy to talk about, and it is even harder to live with every day,” she began. “The trauma of this has changed my life forever… Even dropping [my children] off at school or with family members, I have anxiety.”

She continued, “It is devastating to know that someone who was entrusted with vulnerable children could do this. I often wonder how she would feel if her children were treated like this.”

Iletha’s mother Darlene Holland also took the stand, as she addressed Cabrera directly. “I feel sorry for you,” she told the defendant. “You would feel really bad if someone did your kids this way.”

Samantha Adams – the mother of a 3.5-month-old little boy who was abused by Cabrera – recounted the bruises and fingerprint marks that her son would come home with after starting daycare. She told the court that when reviewing the surveillance footage, Adams witnessed Cabrera pick her son up by one leg and “drop him” on the ground and “slam him” on the ground “so hard that his head would touch his toes and he would not move afterward.”

Adams explained that it was later discovered that her son had a severe bleeding disorder, which could have caused him to die from the violence that was occurring. “How [Cabrera] was throwing him on the concrete ground – she could have killed him. He could have bled out on the inside,” Adams told the court.

The mother also spoke about the lasting effects of Cabrera’s abuse on her son, as she stated that he hates touch and has undergone physical therapy. He also was forced to wear a helmet for 23 hours a day for four months because of damages to his skull. She informed the court that her son has experienced night terrors (which only recently stopped) since the incident, as he would wake up screaming and would crawl or run off the bed.

“It was hard knowing that such a monster was out there that could do this,” Adams emphasized.

Adams’ mother-in-law Michelle Adams also took to the stand. “We give these people our children every day to go to work. We trust in them to do what they should,” she began.

Michelle Adams told the court that she felt that Cabrera shouldn’t have custody of her children because she feels that if Cabrera could harm other people’s children, she could harm her own children.

The grandmother spoke to Cabrera directly. “I am so angry. I am tired of seeing this happen [to children], and I hope the judge makes an example of you. Because of what you did to these babies, we will never trust [anyone]. Any amount of time that they give you will never be enough for the trauma and suffering we endured,” Michelle Adams concluded.

Kelly Kight – the mother of a boy who was only 8 months old when the abuse occurred – told the court that she struggles to trust anyone with her children now, and emphasized that she does not understand why Cabrera did this abuse.

Brittany Mosley, a mother whose son was 9 months old at the time of the abuse, shared that her son had bruises on him prior to the reported abuse.

She recounted one instance where instead of her husband, who typically picked the child up from the daycare, she picked her son up and realized something was not right. “He had this vacant stare and he just wasn’t himself,” she said. “It took 15 minutes for him to look at me.”

Mosley explained that she thought her son may not be adjusting well to daycare and was actively seeking other facilities for him to transfer to at the time of the discovery of the abuse. She stated that for months, she had noticed bruises and other issues, but was blaming herself for the issues, as she thought he may not have been getting the needed nutrients from breastfeeding or other things.

“The whole time I was blaming myself, it was her,” she told the court. “She would smile to our faces when we picked our kids up like this wasn’t happening.”

Mosley stressed that she had lost trust in other people because of the situation, and her son had experienced delays as a result of the violence.

Courtney Luke told the court that she only put her son – who was 4 months old at the time of the abuse – in daycare because she was accepted into nursing school, and had no idea that she had “placed her son into the hands of someone that would mistreat him.”

Luke explained that her son had both a deformed spot – a bulge – and a flat spot on his head from staying in the same position for several hours, and had to wear a helmet for six months in attempt to correct these issues as much as possible. Luke informed the court that she had to quit her job at the hospital, which she had recently begun at the time, to take her son to the cranial doctor in a bigger city. In addition, to this day, he still is afraid to be alone, and makes Luke or her husband go with him everywhere, even places in their own home.

She recounted a time when Cabrera told Luke that she loved Luke’s son and was so glad that the family sent the child to the daycare, and emphasized her horror that while Cabrera was saying this, she was actively mistreating the child. “Nicole Cabrera stole something from my family that can never be returned: peace of mind,” Luke added.

Luke continued, “The anger, the frustration – it has not gone away. He was just a baby. He depended on the adults around him to keep him safe.”

She concluded by emphasizing that the sentencing was not about Cabrera, herself, or any of the other parents. “It is about the lifelong impact on a child that had no voice,” Luke told the court.

After the parents and grandparents had addressed the court, Lyons Police Investigator Chris Morrison took the stand, as he led the court through the viewing of 39 total instances of mistreatment throughout a single day. At the conclusion of Morrison’s presentation, the prosecution rested.

Defense

Stacey Cordoba – Cabrera’s mother – was the first individual to take the stand on behalf of Cabrera, as she told the court that how Cabrera interacted with the children in the videos was not the same way that she interacted with her own children, who are ages 4 and 2.

Cordoba explained that when the incident occurred, Cabrera was freshly postpartum and dealing with some personality changes. “She would just get quiet and be like she was depressed,” Cordoba remarked. She told the court that Cabrera’s demeanor in court was more like her normal demeanor, as she was more reserved.

Cordoba also informed the court that she did not have any other incidences of abuse with children, as after three home visits, the Department of Family and Children Services – who was investigating the home as a result of the charges – did not remove the children, and Cabrera had worked previously at Candler County Schools as both a paraprofessional and a daycare worker, where she had additional help in both roles. “This was the first time she was alone with multiple kids [as a job],” Cordoba said.

Cabrera’s children’s father Douglas Allison Jr. also testified on the stand that he had no concerns of how Cabrera parented the couple’s children, as she did not treat them in the same manner that was shown in the videos.

Allison’s foster mother Debi Joiner also spoke during the hearing, as she stated that she believed Cabrera was overwhelmed with the job. “If you gave me ten babies in diapers [and] with bottles, I don’t think I could take care of them the way I need to,” she remarked. “She was very overwhelmed, 21 [yearsold], and postpartum.”

Cabrera also took to the stand, during which she explained that Joiner’s theory was true – she was stressed in the atmosphere. Cabrera said that she did not feel that she was in the best mental state to be working in the classroom alone, but when she talked to the owner about the issue and help was hired, they did not work in Cabrera’s room but was moved to another class.

She admitted to spending a few hours a day on her phone, and told that she suffers from anxiety and depression, but does not currently take medicine and has never received counseling for the condition. She stated that she was not an emotional person and tended to show her emotions privately, which is why she appeared unemotional in court. She also affirmed that she had received other job offers, but continued to stay working at the daycare at the time of the incident.

While on the stand, Cabrera addressed the parents and loved ones of the children, saying, “I know my actions can’t be forgiven, but I am incredibly sorry.”

Sentencing

During closing arguments, Cabrera’s attorney requested that Cabrera receive no more than 10 years of incarceration, and that she be granted first offender status so that the crime would be deleted from her record after the sentence was complete.

Middle Judicial Circuit Attorney Tripp Fitzner objected to these requests, as he compared Cabrera’s treatment of the children to an individual swatting gnats from their bodies. “[The kids] were keeping her from what she [wanted] to do, so she just got them out of her way,” he told Middle Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Robert Reeves.

“Every explanation and justification [the defense] have has been disproven,” he remarked. “You can fix people who are angry, upset, or sad, but it is impossible to fix someone who is indifferent to their own actions. She just does not care.”

Fitzner requested that Judge Reeves sentence Cabrera to serve 40 years under supervision – 30 years of which should be spent incarcerated. He also asked that she be barred from serving on any Board of Educations or in any capacity with children in the future, and stated that first offender status should not be considered for Cabrera because others around her need to be aware of these actions so that they may protect their children.

During sentencing, Judge Reeves explained that it is “unbelievable that all [footage shown in the court] was during one day.”

“There will never be enough punishment by any mechanism of this court to satisfy the families’ hurt,” he remarked.

Judge Reeves sentenced Cabrera to 20 years to serve on each of two counts of aggravated battery, concurrent with each other. On each of nine counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, one count for each child, the court imposed 20 years, with 10 to serve followed by 10 on probation, concurrent with each other and consecutive to the aggravated battery counts, for a total sentence of 40 years with the first 30 in confinement. A remaining count was nolle prossed, meaning the prosecutor will not pursue it any further.

The Judge also barred Cabrera from living in, traveling through, or visiting Toombs County without the permission of a Middle Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge.

Judge Reeves also spoke to the parents at the end of the case, as he stated that though he and Fitzner had imposed the sentence, the amount of years that Cabrera serves would likely be shorter, as he knew of several instances of the state releasing individuals early. “Be prepared for that disappointment – that’s what they do in Atlanta,” he concluded.

Reflection

Fitzner reflected on the case. 'Parents hand over the thing they love most in this world every single morning, on faith. This sentence is what that faith is worth in this circuit. No parent here should ever again have to wonder whether Nicole Cabrera is on the other side of a daycare door,” he emphasized.

The District Attorney credited the Lyons Police Department for the investigation that made the sentence possible, as he said Sergeant Morrison secured the facility's video before it could be lost, documented every act it showed, entry by entry, with the time and the child, and obtained the statements that proved the defendant knew exactly what she was doing.

'This case was built by police work,' Fitzner said. 'Sergeant Morrison and the Lyons Police Department gave nine children who cannot yet speak the only voice they had. The people of this circuit are fortunate to have officers of that caliber.'