Statesboro Mom of 8 takes negotiated guilty plea, avoids 260-year potential sentence

by Madalyn Bierster

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - A Bulloch County woman has pleaded guilty to avoid a potential 260-year prison sentence in a child cruelty case involving her eight children.

Brittany Fields, 37, was originally charged with 13 counts of Cruelty to Children in the first degree after her December 2024 arrest.

She was granted bond a few months later, and her case has been going through the system ever since.

All of these charges, as part of the negotiated guilty plea, were amended to Cruelty to Children in the second degree.

Statesboro Mom of 8 takes negotiated guilty plea, avoids 260 year potential sentence

Sentencing details

For count 1, Fields received 10 years’ probation and 60 days to serve in jail, but received credit for jail time already served from Dec. 19, 2024, to Feb. 14, 2025.

She also received 170 to 180 days in a probation detention center, which was suspended, and a $1,000 fine suspended upon drug abuse evaluation within 30 days.

She must also comply with DFACS.

For counts 2- 13, Fields received 10 years’ probation for each count, all to run concurrently.

As part of a negotiated guilty plea, Fields essentially received a sentence of 10 years on probation.

Fields must report to the community supervision office, provide DNA for testing, and undergo a substance abuse evaluation within 30 days.

She must also abide by a curfew, is not allowed to use or be around alcohol or drugs, cannot possess guns or ammunition, and cannot violate any laws.

Arrest details

Statesboro Police responded to the Stay-Plus Extended Suites off Highway 67 on Dec. 12, 2024. Inside that hotel room, police reports reveal that eight of Fields’ children were not being fed, to the point that they were in danger.

Inside that hotel room, police reports reveal that eight of Fields’ children were not being fed, to the point that they were in danger.

This included a 14-year-old, two 12-year-olds, a 7-year-old, a 5-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 1-year-old baby.

The warrant details her arrest stemmed from “willfully depriving children of necessary sustenance to the extent that the children’s health or well-being is jeopardized.”

During her arrest, she told officers she might be pregnant.

A neighbor shared that she saw police looking for Fields’ kids at one point and they found one of the toddlers in the woods wearing only a diaper.

The neighbor says the children would constantly be roaming up and down her street when they used to live nearby. She says she believes Fields was pregnant the last time she saw her.