A West Virginia woman has been charged with child abuse after one of her children told state troopers that his other kicked him “in the privates” and beat him with a 2×4 paddle, leaving bruises on this shoulder, chest, and back.
Courtney Crites, 32, lived with her five children and her boyfriend in Barbour County, according to a criminal complaint filed against her. State police were contacted about a possible child abuse case on January 1, although the complaint does not say who contacted them.
The five children were interviewed on January 8 and 9 at the ChildAdvocacy Center in Harrison County, and the investigators reviewed video from those interviews.
The boy in question, identified as PC, said that Crites “kicked him, hit him, and screamed at him.”
“PC advised that Ms. Crites kicked him in the privates once, approximately 2 months ago,” the complaint says. The boy said he was punished when he didn’t put his clothes away “the right away” and that Crites often used “the paddled,” which she called “the attitude adjuster.”
Courtney Crites by kc wildmoon
“PC described that Ms. Crites had pushed him outside in the freezing cold, eventually letting him back in before striking him with the paddle breaking it.”
He showed the size of the paddle to be about 2 inches wide and 2 inches tall and about 2 feet long.
He said the bruises she left on his body lasted for about two months. He further said that she was kick him as she walked by when she was mad.
The boy, whose age was not given, told staff at the Child Advocacy Center that he was “scared to death” to go back and live with Crites.
Crites was charged with three counts of child abuse creating risk of injury and was booked into the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond, West Virginia Metro News reported.
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[Featured image: Courtney Crites/Tygart Valley Regional Jail]
