A woman accused of abusing a child, who was her ward, could serve prison time.
Malonie L. O’Toole, 47, of Green River appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery at an arraignment to three counts of child abuse. She pleaded not guilty to all three felony counts; and a jury trial has been scheduled to take place Sept. 6 at 9 a.m.
If O’Toole is found guilty of all three felonies, she could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $30,000.
According to court documents, on Feb. 23, 2016, a Green River Police officer spoke with a Lincoln Middle School counselor about a possible child abuse case in the home of a LMS student, KO.
The officer interviewed KO, AAF and ALF about possible physical abuse and neglect from their mother O’Toole.
On Feb. 25, 2016, officers told O’Toole about the talks they had with her children.
KO told the officers that on Feb. 26, 2016, her mother told them to go pack their things because the Department of Family Services was going to come and take them away and put them in foster care because they reported the abuse.
On Feb. 26, 2016, Washington Elementary School reported ALF came to school with a black eye. Both ALF and AAF reported that ALF had allegedly been slapped in the face by O’Toole the night before.
All three children were placed into protective custody on Feb. 26, 2016, while her son, SO, was placed into protective custody on Feb. 29, 2016.
KO told the officers her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, Troy Kelly, are not home very often, which leaves her and SO in care of the younger children, which are wards to O’Toole.
KO also told the officers she saw her mother become physically violent with ALF, by allegedly slapping her in the face, hitting her on top of the head with a brush, spanking her with a wooden spoon or dragging her up the stairs by her ponytail.
AAF was also interviewed confirmed what KO said about O’Toole and Kelly not being home too often. She said there is often a power struggle between KO and SO. She also told officers O’Toole didn’t pay the water bill and so they didn’t have water in the home for the last week. AAF said she is concerned for ALF because O’Toole treats her badly even for the smallest things.
She said O’Toole would make comments like “I don’t know why I took you.... if it wasn’t for AAF I wouldn’t have taken you.”
AAF said O’Toole allegedly slapped ALF across the face, grabbed hair and slammed her face into the console because ALF wasn’t supposed to be at a friend’s house. AAF said O’Toole wouldn’t let go of ALF; and when she finally did she told the girl she was going to “beat her purple” when they got home.
AAF also recalled how on Feb. 19, 2016, when ALF got home from school she was acting funny. She noticed ALF had a black eye and asked her what happened. ALF didn’t want to tell her, but then admitted O’Toole had picked her up from school earlier that day and allegedly slapped her in the face.
ALF was also interviewed by an officer, but said she was warned about telling anyone about what happened in the home by O’Toole. ALF said she would get in a lot of trouble if O’Toole found out.
ALF said she recently found out O’Toole wasn’t her real mother and that she gets punished a lot for things she doesn’t even understand. She said she rarely got a cooked meal in the evenings because O’Toole doesn’t cook and everyone is left to cook for themselves, but she isn’t allowed to cook.
ALF recalled O’Toole picking her up from school to see if she had worn makeup to school. When they got home, O’Toole allegedly slapped ALF with alternating hands while screaming at her about wearing makeup to school. After O’Toole finished getting ready for work she took ALF back to school. ALF later discovered she had a black eye.
ALF said she was coming home from a friend’s house one time and O’Toole picked her up and allegedly slammed her head into the car’s console and O’Toole wouldn’t let her up. She said one time O’Toole dragged her up the stairs by her ponytail because she had been wearing makeup to school. After reaching the top of the stairs, O’Toole allegedly slapped her about seven times.
ALF told an officer that on Feb. 25, 2016, O’Toole allegedly hit her in the head and eye because she had left a glass of water on the table, which had confused her because she had done it before without O’Toole getting angry. The girl covered her eye from the officer. When she was asked why, the girl said O’Toole told her if she told anyone what happened she would ground her to her room, slap her, pull her hair and spank her with a wooden spoon on the butt and lower back.
SO was also interviewed and he saw O’Toole yelling at ALF about the water, but didn’t see any altercation. SO said O’Toole was most physical with ALF and himself. He said there was a previous incident reported to police about O’Toole pushing him, while he punched her in the stomach to get away from her.
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