They and two other adults, Tammara Ann Moreland and Marquette Antionette Cantrell, were indicted on similar counts of child endangering and felonious assault for “whoopings” of a young girl.
All four adults and several children were living together as a family unit in Beavercreek, according to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office. A few days before October 19, 2021, the child failed to complete her assigned chores, and the four adults disciplined her by excessively striking the child with a belt, causing bleeding, open wounds on her lower back. One of the adults then immediately sprayed isopropyl alcohol onto the wounds, prosecutors said.
A few days later, the child secretly left the house and went to Coy Middle School in Beavercreek. When Tchanavian Cantrell learned the child was at the school and came to collect her, the child fled the school grounds, prosecutors said. Deputies were called and quickly found the girl hiding in a tree line near the school.
Once police found her, the girl told deputies she didn’t want to go home because she was being abused, according to court documents. The Sheriff’s Office then contacted Greene County Children Services.
After an investigation, Beavercreek police arrested the adults on October 21, 2021, and charged them with child endangering.
The child told a caseworker she received “whoopings” anytime something went wrong, and said she received about 200 “licks” because she didn’t do chores correctly.
“Throughout the interview (the child) stated, ‘They abuse us, all of us,’” according to the affidavit.
The court revoked the couple’s bond after the jury verdict. A sentencing date has not yet been set, the prosecutor’s office said.
Marquette Antoinette Cantrell’s jury trial has yet to be scheduled. Moreland’s jury trial is set for November.
“There is a line between discipline and abuse,” said Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes. “The adults who should have been responsible for caring for this child abdicated that responsibility and crossed the line. No child should be tortured, and no adult should be permitted to cruelly abuse a child.”
About the Author
