A White County, Tennessee man will spend the next 22 years behind bars after pleading guilty to abusing his one-month-old child, an assault that left the infant with fractured ribs, a broken arm, and multiple other injuries doctors deemed non-accidental. Joseph Alexander Farris was sentenced on August 7 and must serve every day of that sentence under Tennessee’s truth-in-sentencing law, with no possibility of early release or parole.
The case began on October 13, 2024, when law enforcement in White County received a referral from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services concerning suspected physical abuse of a one-month-old infant, according to a statement from District Attorney General Bryant C. Dunaway. The infant was taken to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital the same day and underwent a skeletal survey that doctors said was concerning for child abuse. Farris had been caring for the child when the injuries occurred, and he is the infant’s father, per the DA’s statement.
According to Sparta Live, Farris, then 20 years old, confessed during an initial interview at the Sparta Police Department and demonstrated to investigators how he caused the injuries. He was booked on an aggravated child abuse charge with bond set at $100,000, the outlet reported at the time. The station’s report noted that Sparta Police Investigator Charles Sims and DA Investigator Randal Slayton later conducted a follow-up interrogation after the infant had been transferred to Vanderbilt for treatment.
What the Skeletal Survey Found
The imaging at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital documented an extensive list of injuries. The DA’s statement lists acute bilateral mid-clavicle fractures, an acute right acromion fracture, multiple acute posterior bilateral rib fractures, and a healing subacute right mid-humerus spiral fracture. The survey also possibly revealed a left scapular fracture or nutrient foramen, and possibly one acute left anterior rib fracture, the statement said.
Vanderbilt’s pediatric trauma program includes a specialized Center for Child Protection and Well-Being, known as the CARE Team, which conducts multidisciplinary evaluations, skeletal surveys, and consultations with pediatric radiologists and orthopaedists for children suspected of being abuse victims, according to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The medical center serves as the primary Level-1 pediatric trauma center for Middle Tennessee. Investigators say Farris ultimately acknowledged that he knew he was hurting the child.
Prosecution and Sentencing
Detective Charlie Sims investigated the case in Sparta, with Investigator Randal Slayton, who works for the District Attorney General’s Office, assisting in the investigation. Jessica Krebs, who works in the district attorney’s child abuse prosecution unit, prosecuted the case, according to the DA’s statement.
Farris pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony under Tennessee law. Aggravated child abuse is codified as Haley’s Law, and under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-15-402, it applies when abuse or neglect causes serious bodily injury — such as bone fractures or severe internal trauma — to a victim aged eight or younger, per FindLaw. Class A felony convictions in Tennessee carry statutory sentencing ranges of 15 to 60 years and fines of up to $50,000, FindLaw notes.
Because Farris’s offense occurred after July 1, 2022, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-501 requires him to serve 100% of his court-imposed sentence with no release eligibility or parole, according to Justia Law. The state’s truth-in-sentencing laws eliminated early release options for specific violent and child-abuse offenses, the legal analysis explains. Farris will serve the full 22 years in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
A Broader Pattern in Tennessee
The DA’s office reminded the public that reporting suspected child abuse is mandatory under Tennessee law. Every adult in the state is designated a mandatory reporter required to immediately report suspected abuse to authorities under Tennessee Code Annotated § 37-1-403, while knowingly failing to report is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to nearly a year in jail under a related statute, according to FindLaw. Tennessee law also provides civil and criminal immunity to those who report suspected maltreatment in good faith, the same source notes.
Federal child welfare statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recorded 9,364 unique child victims of maltreatment in Tennessee during 2024, with physical abuse representing 66.1% of all victimizations, according to federal child welfare data. A 2025 report from the Child Welfare League of America analyzing 2023 state data found that infants under one year old made up the largest single age group among Tennessee maltreatment victims, accounting for 1,895 of 7,638 total victims that year — nearly a quarter of the statewide total.
The 13th Judicial District DA’s office, led by Dunaway since 2014, prosecutes criminal cases across seven Upper Cumberland counties, including White County, and maintains specialized child abuse prosecution staff. In a separate but comparable case, a Campbell County woman was sentenced on August 3 to 25 years in prison at 100% service for inflicting severe non-accidental injuries on her infant twin children, offering a recent benchmark for how Tennessee courts have treated similar Class A felony infant abuse cases.
