A woman accused of child abuse after choking a child under 16 years of age will have the charge dismissed if she can successfully complete her probation.
Joanna Stephenson, 29, of Green River, appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery for an order suspending proceedings pursuant to Wyoming Statute 7-13-301 to one felony count of child abuse.
In this case, under Wyoming Statute 7-13-301, a no contest plea was taken, but not entered. Should Stephenson successfully complete her five years of supervised probation, the felony charge will be dismissed. A first-time offender can only use this statute once. In a no contest plea, Stephenson is neither denying or admitting to the charge, she’s simply admitting that there’s enough evidence in the court information to warrant the child abuse charge.
Should Stephenson fail to complete the probation, the no contest plea will be entered, a felony will appear on her record and she could serve a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
According to court documents, on Jan 1, 2018, a Green River Police officer was informed of a possible assault. After arriving at the residence, the officer spoke with two juvenile females, NE and HV. NE told the officer she had been strangled and scratched by Stephenson. HV told the officer she had been grabbed and possibly scratched by Stephenson.
The girls told the officer Stephenson was a friend of their mother and she had been at the house.
NE said while at the house, Stephenson and some male she didn’t know were messing around in the bathroom next to her room. NE said she went to the bathroom door and told them to stop because she could hear them in her room.
It was at this point when Stephenson came out of the bathroom and was upset at NE. She then started to yell at NE and grabbed her by the arm leaving scratches. Stephenson then grabbed NE by the throat so hard that NE was unable to breathe. NE thought Stephenson had her hands around her throat for about a minute.
After Stephenson let her go, NE said she ran downstairs to the bathroom where she proceeded to lock herself in. NE then went to talk to Stephenson again after a few minutes, and Stephenson got upset and choked NE again.
This time it was only for 30 seconds. NE told the officer she had difficulty breathing during and after each incident.
HV told the officer Stephenson grabbed her shoulder and by the back of her neck. She said it hurt when she was grabbed, but she wasn’t sure if there were scratches or not.
The officer noticed a large red mark on NE’s neck over the center of her throat, he also noticed two scratches on her right arm.
He took photos of the injuries.
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