Couple sentenced to jail for 2018 beating of 9-year-old girl

Date: February 11, 2022

A couple responsible for the beating of a 9-year-old girl left bruised to the point that a hug by a relative caused pain were sentenced Thursday, Feb. 10 to terms of incarceration.

Robert Hill. Photo courtesy the Jail Report

Robert Hill, 29, and Elizabeth A. Boyd, 27, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to cruelty to children and reckless conduct, respectively, for what occurred Dec. 20, 2018. Hill admitted he beat the child because she was acting sexually inappropriately, and Boyd admitted she failed to seek medical treatment for the child. In court, it was revealed in court that the child was being sexually molested by another adult.

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Chief Judge Daniel J. Craig sentenced Hill to 13 years in prison followed by seven years on probation. He sentenced Boyd to one year in the county jail, the maximum punishment for the misdemeanor crime she pleaded guilty to.

Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com. 

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The Author

Award-winning journalist Sandy Hodson The Augusta Press courts reporter. She is a native of Indiana, but she has been an Augusta resident since 1995 when she joined the staff of the Augusta Chronicle where she covered courts and public affairs. Hodson is a graduate of Ball State University, and she holds a certificate in investigative reporting from the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization. Before joining the Chronicle, Hodson spent six years at the Jackson, Tenn. Sun. Hodson received the prestigious Georgia Press Association Freedom of Information Award in 2015, and she has won press association awards for investigative reporting, non-deadline reporting, hard news reporting, public service and specialty reporting. In 2000, Hodson won the Georgia Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, and in 2001, she received Honorable Mention for the same award and is a fellow of the National Press Foundation and a graduate of the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting boot camp.

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