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Gwinnett man convicted of abusing stepchildren, their mother

According to court testimony, a 32-year-old Gwinnett County man struck his stepson in the face so hard with a sandal it made his nose bleed and left a mark in the shape of the sandal.
Jose Claros was convicted on charges of abusing his stepchildren and their mother on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- A Gwinnett County man was convicted last Tuesday with physically abusing his stepchildren and their mother during an August 2015 incident.

According to trial testimony, during the early morning hours of August 2, 2015, 32-year-old Jose Adan Claros struck his 4-year-old stepson with a sandal on the face, arms and legs so hard that the boy's nose began to bleed.

During this incident, the boy's mother, who was 8 months pregnant with Claros' child at the time, tried to pull him away from the child. Claros began to kick the mother in the legs and hips to prevent her from getting to the child.

At that point, according to testimony, Claros picked the child up and stuck his head under running water in such a way that water began to run up his nose.

The boy's mother was able to take the boy from Claros and run from the house. While doing so, she told her 8-year-old daughter to lock her bedroom door. Once outside, she went to her daughter's window to get her to jump out, but the girl was unable to do so.

Jose Claros was convicted on charges of abusing his stepchildren and their mother on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

The mother returned to the home with the 4-year-old and was able to get to her daughter's room and lock the three of them inside until the next morning.

In the morning, the mother was able to take the children and leave the house, fleeing to her brother's home. She contacted police at that point and was able to make a statement. Photographs of the injuries to the mother and boy were also taken -- which included a large red mark on his face in the shape of a sandal.

During the trial, the mother recanted her original statements and testified that she had lied to police, despite the physical evidence and photographs presented. When confronted with the evidence, she said the boy's nose spontaneously began to bleed and that the sandal print injury came from a fall on his bike.

The jury quickly returned a guilty verdict on all counts against Claros, despite the mother's conflicting testimony.

He faced four counts -- first-degree cruelty to children, family violence battery, battery and third-degree cruelty to children.

Judge R. Timothy Hamil, calling the mother's testimony "unbelievable," sentenced Claros to a total of 15 years, with the first five years to be served in jail.

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