Woman pleads guilty to child endangerment involving 4-year-old girl

Ed Lewis, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Nov. 9—WILKES-BARRE — A woman admitted to endangering the welfare of a 4-year-old girl who sustained a serious head injury that required emergency surgery.

Deborah Anne Holton, 32, pled guilty before Luzerne County Judge David W. Lupas to endangering the welfare of children and reckless endangerment on Tuesday.

Holton and her paramour, Sheona Eyvonne Banks, 33, were charged by Wilkes-Barre police detectives after they took the 4-year-old girl to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township on Feb. 25. Hospital staff notified police about suspected child abuse.

The girl was observed having large cuts, bruises on her arms, forehead, face, and torso and her skull was reportedly deformed with indications of brain trauma, according to court records.

The girl was transported to Geisinger Medical Center near Danville where she underwent emergency brain surgery and placed on life support. She survived and is continuing to recover, prosecutors said.

Court records say an evaluation revealed the girl was malnourished with her ribs visible, brittle hair and sunken eyes and cheeks.

During interviews with detectives, Holton claimed she was a caregiver for the girl and two other children while their biological mother, Banks, was at work. Holton blamed the girl's head injury on the child's restless sleep pattern, court records say.

As detectives investigated the suspected child abuse, they also uncovered a 16-year-old boy in their care was physical abused.

Holton previously pled guilty to a separate count of endangering a child involving the 16-year-old boy.

Lupas said he will sentence Holton on Dec. 29.

Banks is facing separate counts of endangering the welfare of children and a single count of recklessly endangering another person. She is scheduled for a court appearance before Lupas on Nov. 23.