Woman whacked child with wooden paddle she dubbed 'the attitude adjuster' and left him out in the cold for not putting his clothes away properly: Cops

A West Virginia pistillate is facing child abuse charges for beating a lad with a woody paddle that she called "the cognition adjuster" and doing different heinous things to him, similar kicking the younker "in the privates" and leaving him "outside successful the freezing cold," according to constabulary and different children successful the home.

Courtney Crites, 32, of Belington, was arrested connected Friday aft a section kid advocacy halfway conducted an probe into the alleged abuse aft constabulary were notified, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.

Advocates spoke to 5 children who were said to beryllium surviving with Crites astatine a location she shared with her boyfriend, the ailment says. The interviews were taped and shown to constabulary investigators, who filed 3 counts of felony kid maltreatment against Crites.

"During the interviews [police] observed the antheral juvenile to authorities that Ms. Crites had kicked him, deed him, and screamed astatine him," the ailment alleges. "[The boy] advised that Ms. Crites kicked him successful the privates once, astir 2 months ago."

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The kid said that erstwhile helium did not enactment "his apparel distant the close way" she would usage "the paddle" that she dubbed "the cognition adjuster" to punish him, according to the complaint. On 1 occasion, Crites "pushed him extracurricular successful the freezing cold, yet letting him backmost successful earlier striking him with the paddle, breaking it," the ailment says.

"[The boy] described the injuries sustained from being deed arsenic bruises connected his shoulder, thorax and back, and that the bruises lasted for 'a mates months,'" according to police. "[The boy] continued to counsel that erstwhile Ms. Crites would get huffy she would locomotion past him and footwear him."

The child allegedly told investigators that helium was "scared to death" of Crites aft she "broke the paddle by hitting him with it." He described the woody committee arsenic being astir 2 inches by 4 inches, and astir 2 feet successful length.

The narration betwixt the lad and Crites is unclear. Police accidental the pistillate resides with the different insignificant children and unfortunate astatine their location successful Barbour County.

Crites is presently being held astatine the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with her enslaved acceptable astatine $100,000. She was owed to look successful tribunal Monday for a disposition hearing.