VA mom pleads guilty to brutally beating 10-year-old son with hot iron, chair, dresser drawers
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A northern Virginia mother pleaded guilty Monday to the brutal assault of her 10-year-old child in which she used a hot iron, a chair, dresser drawers and more.
China Ashley Charles, 38, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon; assault by striking, beating, and wounding; and cruelty to children after what prosecutors say she brutally attacked her child because his bedroom was messy.
What happened?
The backstory:
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the violent beating happened on Oct. 8, 2024.
Prosecutors say Charles became enraged when she saw her son’s bedroom and began hitting him using a chair, dresser drawers, a hot iron, a charging wire, a hairbrush, and a large serving spoon.
She attempted to hit his face with the hot iron but he told authorities that he blocked it with his hands. When Charles hit the child with the charging wire, his finger was cut and began bleeding.
They say Charles tried to hide her crime by making the child sit in a cold bath and splashing cold water on his face.
After the beating, the boy snuck out of his second-floor bedroom, dropped onto the roof of the home, then jumped down and fled. He was found by police with substantial bruises, abrasions, a knot on the back of his head, and a cut and bleeding finger.
The boy was taken to the emergency room at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital by ambulance.
The investigation begins
What we know:
Law enforcement recovered numerous items from Charles’ residence, including the iron, chair, hairbrush, spoon, multiple dresser drawers, and a sweater and a shirt with "I’M ON PUNISHMENT" written on them in black marker.
Investigators found that several of these items appeared to have blood on them, and further examination confirmed that the child’s blood was located on the iron and at least one dresser drawer.
The boy’s sister reported that Charles had been beating him for the past four years.
Charles is now scheduled to be sentenced on May 9 and faces up to 16 years in prison.
The Source: The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia