Bond has been set for a woman facing thirteen counts of cruelty to children in Bulloch County.
36-year-old Brittany Shannell Fields of Statesboro was arrested on Cruelty to Children (1st degree) charges in December 2024.
Warrants filed in court detail two separate cases with the same felony charges.
The first case alleges that Fields as “a person supervising the welfare of or having immediate charge or custody of a child under the age of 18” committed the offense of cruelty to children by willfully depriving the children of “necessary sustenance to the extent that the child’s health or well-being is jeopardized” on December 8, 2024.
Subsequently, she is charged with five counts of Cruelty to Children (1st degree) – one count for each child listed in the warrants. Named victims include a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 1-year-old. All five victims are listed as children of Fields.
The second asserts that Fields committed the offense of cruelty to children on December 12, 2024 by willfully depriving the children of “necessary sustenance.” In this case, there are eight corresponding charges, presumably one count for each child. The warrants list eight children, including a 14-year-old, two 12-year-olds, one 7-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 1-year-old.
Detectives with SPD told media outlets in December that they were initially called to a home for a squatting complaint. Upon arrival, they found several children unsupervised and without heat. They called the conditions “abhorrent,” noting that the children had been out of food for several days.
Fields was arrested on December 19 and has remained behind bars at the Bulloch County Jail ever since. Her children were placed in a DFCS-approved home in another county.
On Tuesday morning, Superior Court Judge Michael Muldrew set bond at $15,000. As of 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, she was still in the Bulloch County Jail.
History of Issues
In an unrelated domestic case, Fields and another man were the named defendants in a suit where the father of one of the children sought custody. That case includes witness affidavits in which people submitted sworn statements attesting to what they observed with Fields and her children.
“On several occasions, I have witnessed the children running up to my vehicle asking for money because they were hungry and hadn’t eaten all day. Just recently, two of the older boys were at the park and came to me asking for five dollars each to walk to Dairy Queen to get some food because they were hungry and hadn’t eaten all day. I went to McDonald’s and bought two large combo meals and took it back to them at the park. They thanked me over and over again for the food….On another occasion [another child] got into the car with me and his great-grandmother, his body odor was so bad, we had to ride with the windows down. We had to hold our nose to help block the odor. I went to Dollar General store and spent $89 on personal care items, clothes, etc. I had to wash [his] hair and body three times to rid the odor and washed all his clothes twice in the washing machine.”
Another sworn affidavit by another individual mentioned filing complaints with DFCS in 2022, reading in part:
“I have witnessed [the child] harboring food…The children are usually outside running around in soiled diapers. Ages 1-6 year olds. All of the children have foul odors and have often stated that they have not ate and are hungry. I have taken food for all of the children on numerous occasions. Several of my friends and family members whom live on [address] have contacted me stating that the children are being left at home for days without proper supervision…”
From another sworn affidavit:
“[The two-year-old] was seen walking by himself far from his home with no one in sight. He was filthy, unwashed with no clothes or shoes on. I took him and washed, bathed him…dirt deeply embedded with sand in his crevices, dirty in his nails and hairs. Always look poorly like he doesn’t eat; very skinny…Mother doesn’t look like she be home. All of the boys barely wear any clothes.”
Similarly, in 2016, the Georgia Department of Human Services sought recovery of child support payments for six of Fields’ children who were, at the time, in the custody and care of someone else. The court ordered $97.17 per month per child, for a total of $583 per month.
In 2019, a complaint for contempt was filed by the Department of Human Services against Fields for nonpayment, citing her being in arrears in the amount of $3,394.47 as of September 2019. In 2021, another complaint for contempt was filed for non-compliance with the 2016 order. The March 2021 filing said Fields was in arrears in the amount of $4,080 as of October 2020.
