A mother from northern Virginia pleaded guilty on Monday to brutally assaulting her 10-year-old child with a hot iron, a chair, dresser drawers, and other items.
China Ashley Charles, 38, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault by striking, beating, and injuring, and cruelty to children after prosecutors claim she savagely struck her child because his bedroom was filthy.
What happened?
According to a news release from the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the savage beating occurred on October 8, 2024.
Prosecutors said Charles became upset when she saw her son’s bedroom and started striking him with a chair, dresser drawers, a hot iron, a charging cable, a hairbrush, and a huge serving spoon.
She tried to smash him in the face with the hot iron, but he informed authorities that he prevented it with his hands. Charles injured the youngster’s finger with the charging wire, causing it to bleed.
They claim Charles attempted to conceal her crime by making the boy sit in a cold bath and spraying cold water on his face.
Following the beating, the youngster sneaked out of his second-floor bedroom, leaped onto the roof of the house, and fled. Authorities discovered him with severe bruises, abrasions, a knot on the back of his skull, and a sliced and bleeding finger.
An ambulance took the child to the emergency room at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
The investigation begins
Law officials found various things from Charles’ home, including an iron, chair, hairbrush, spoon, multiple dresser drawers, and a jumper and shirt with the words “I’M ON PUNISHMENT” scribbled in black marker.
Investigators discovered that several of these things looked to have blood on them, and subsequent analysis revealed that the child’s blood was on the iron and at least one dresser drawer.
The boy’s sister claimed that Charles had been beating him for the past four years.
Charles is now expected to be sentenced on May 9, and he faces up to 16 years in jail.