UPDATE Sept. 14, 2026, 4:41 p.m.
A grand jury has indicted longtime Liberty County District 1 Commissioner Marion Stevens on two counts of first-degree cruelty to children, the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia confirmed by e-mail Monday. Stevens has been out on bond since April; in Georgia, a defendant generally remains free on the existing bond unless new charges are added.
Because Stevens is a sitting elected official, the Atlantic Judicial Circuit referred the case to PACGA, which handles conflicts of interest. PACGA declined further comment “pursuant to Georgia Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8.” Stevens could not be reached at publication; The Current GA left a voicemail.
Stevens and Valencia Stevens, who were foster parents to a boy and a girl, were charged in April with two felony counts of first-degree cruelty to children – causing excessive physical or mental pain.
A Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputy alleged in separate arrest warrants that Stevens “did maliciously cause… cruel or excessive pain by whipping [the children] with a white extension cord numerous times, which as a result have left permanent scars and marks on a large portion of [each child’s] body.”
According to an LCSO incident report, Valencia Stevens reported on March 28 at 9:53 a.m. that she had not seen the boy since about 4:30 p.m. the day before. She added that he usually was not gone more than a few hours. After a search, LCSO put out a missing child alert.
Around 1:45 p.m., three adults in a neighborhood over a mile away notified law enforcement that they had found the boy looking in their windows and knocking on the door. The boy allegedly “stated he was homeless, had no family present, and requested a place to stay.” A deputy took the boy home, where EMS checked him “for scratches and thorns he complained about. The juvenile stated the injuries were sustained from falling in the woods.”
Both Marion and Valencia Stevens were arrested and bonded out the next day. Chief Magistrate Judge Michael McGirt ordered the couple to have no contact with the children.
At that time, Stevens told The Current GA he could not comment on the charges, citing the ongoing investigation.
Asked in April whether he or his office would recuse themselves from the case, Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Billy Joe Nelson told The Current GA, “That’s not a decision we’ve been able to make yet because we need to know more about the case.” Nelson added that, in the past, cases involving conflicts due to voting or budgetary issues over the office have been recused.
Both Marion and Valencia Stevens are considered innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, both could face five to 20 years in prison on each count.
Stevens, 75, has held the District 1 seat since 1999, but lost the May 19 general/nonpartisan primary to former Walthourville mayor Larry Baker. Republican Joseph “Michael” Cook will take on Baker in the November 3 general election.
