Judge says Fulton DA snubbed victims in preschool abuse case

“The district attorney has now taken the position that victims have no right to be heard about such resolutions,” Carnesale said, adding that the deals are usually presented in open court.

In case filings, the DA accused the judge of bowing to pressure from the victims’ parents.

Carnesale approved a pretrial diversion agreement for a third defendant earlier this year, case records show. The DA alleged Carnesale has changed tactics for the two remaining defendants because victims’ parents have publicly criticized the prosecution in recent months.

“The court’s selective departure from its normal approach in the case of the remaining co-defendants raises serious concerns about fairness and impartiality,” the DA said July 18 in a recusal motion.

Carnesale said she was being asked to sign the new agreements under different circumstances than the first.

Some of the parents who say their children were abused by employees at Parker-Chase preschool in Roswell in 2022 were in court Monday waiting to voice their opposition to the pretrial diversion deals when the judge recused herself instead.

Lynsey and Ryan Atkinson said their son was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being abused at the preschool by teachers Soriana Briceno and Zeina Alostwani, who were charged with associated felonies.

“It feels as though they are on the side of the defendants,” Lynsey Atkinson said of the prosecutors. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Other parents urged Carnesale in June to let the case go before a jury.

“We’ve endured years of trauma, heartbreak and legal uncertainty,” Ryan Randall told the judge during a June 18 hearing. “We begged for communication from the DA’s office, showed up to every proceeding and remained patient through the constant turnover of attorneys, investigators and advocates. Now it feels like we are asked to walk away quietly.”

The DA said its contact with the parents tied to the case was more than required.

“The state must do what is right even when victims disagree with that difficult decision,” the DA said.

Jason Sheffield, who represents Alostwani in the case, said it was overcharged by a prosecutor who has since left the DA’s office.

“When you look at the case as a whole and you watch the hundreds of hours of videos that the state originally went through, you see that you have some teachers that are overwhelmed but they’re doing the best they can,” Sheffield said.

Court records show Alostwani and Briceno were indicted alongside Lulwa Almouslli in 2022. Almouslli, who faced fewer charges than the other defendants, was given pretrial diversion earlier this year.

Alostwani and Briceno each face felony counts of cruelty to children as well as misdemeanor battery charges. They are accused of striking toddlers with their hands and books, pushing and pulling the children and holding them against their will, among other things. The indictment also accuses Alostwani of shoving a child’s face into a trash can.

Briceno’s lawyer, Gabriel Winters, did not immediately comment on the case.