RINGGOLD, Ga. – The mom of the second alleged child victim in the Tonya Craft trial took the stand this morning.
The woman, who is unidentified to protect the identity of the child, said she and Tonya Craft had had a strained relationship after an incident with their children.
Ms. Craft, a former kindergarten teacher, is charged with 22 counts of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation. The charges involve three children.
The witness said when she got home from a vacation, she had a call to take her daughter to the advocacy center about a child-on-child incident. But when she got to the center she was told Ms. Craft was also suspected of touching her daughter and several other girls.
In cross-examination, defense attorney Scott King asked the witness if she knew about the allegations against Ms. Craft before arriving at the center.
She said “No.”
But when questioned further about a conversation with another parent on the ride to the center, she said she couldn’t remember if she asked her daughter about Ms. Craft touching her.
At the end of her testimony she told Mr. King, “Now I remember saying, ‘Did anything ever happen at Ms. Tonya’s house?'”
The next witness was Suzie Thorne, the social worker who interviewed the children.
She was sworn in just before the lunch break. Her testimony will continue this afternoon.
See Wednesday’s Times Free Press for complete coverage.