A former Lyons Day Care worker received a 40-year sentence Thursday morning by Superior Court Judge Bobby Reeves on 9 counts of cruelty to children and 2 counts of aggravated battery involving infants who could not verbally tell of the trauma they had experienced. Nicole Cabrera worked for Step-by-Step Care and Learning Center and was indicted on the charges in April 2025, after parents reported finding bruising and other signs of neglect and mistreatment while their babies were under her care.
On May 7 of this year, Cabrera entered guilty pleas on all counts, and her sentencing hearing lasted several hours Tuesday with multiple mothers of those children recounted how their children had suffered at her hands. Some of those injuries were so extensive that they caused their infants skull deformities and developmental delays. Proof of the charges against the caregiver were documented on video with those captured episodes explained one-by-one on the screen in the courtroom by an investigator with the Lyons Police Department.
Cabrera was represented by Public Defender Brandee Payne, who told the Judge that her client was suffering from postpartum depression and anxiety at the time of the incidents. Payne called three witnesses to the stand: Cabrera’s mother, the father of the Cabrera's own children, and the foster mother of that father who said they had never witnessed this type of behavior between her and her own children.
Cabrera also took the stand and apologized for actions, but that apology did little to sway Judge Reeves, and in the end, he upheld Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney Trippe Fitzner’s recommendation of a sentence of 40 years with 30 to be served in prison followed by 10 years on probation and that she be barred from Toombs County after her release. The Judge also denied her First Offender status, saying that her actions needed to “follow her around for the rest of her life.”
Judge Reeves said, “These actions are unbelievable; there’s no need to try and understand it because I cannot. No matter what punishment I hand down today, it won’t be enough for these children or their families.”
Before adjourning the sentencing, Judge Reeves cautioned parents that it is up to the State Board of Pardons and Parole to decide if, and when, she can be released from her incarceration, noting that neither he nor the District Attorney had any determination in what the State decided if she sought parole or early release.
