Burk mother pleads guilty to child abuse
A Burkburnett mother pleaded guilty Thursday to hitting a child in the stomach and arms with a belt, according to court documents.
Ashley Nichole McCleskey, 33, entered a guilty plea to injury to a child and was sentenced to five years of probation in connection with an Oct. 26, 2021, incident, court documents show.
The felony is punishable by up to two years in a state jail facility.
Eighty-ninth District Judge Charles Barnard also ordered McClesky to pay a $650 general fine, a $100 child abuse prevention fine, $290 in court costs and $55 in reimbursement fees, court records show.
Barnard deferred convicting McCleskey of the state jail felony and placed her on five years of deferred-adjudication probation. If she successfully completes her probation, she is expected to avoid a conviction on her record.
The conditions of her probation bar her from going near the child or directly communicating with him during her community supervision, according to court documents. She is also to perform 120 hours of community service.
The child's grandmother notified Burkburnett police that her grandson's mother had assaulted the elementary-school-aged child, according to allegations in court documents.
The child told police McCleskey hit him in the stomach and arms with a belt, and a detective saw significant bruising on the boy, according to allegations in court documents.
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Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact her with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Her Twitter handle is @Trishapedia.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Burk woman pleads guilty to child abuse charge
