-
A southern Ohio woman is believed to have orchestrated the assault of a young girl by older children, all while capturing it in a video posted to social media.
-
In a release from the Pike County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, May 7th, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said his office was notified by the Chillicothe Police Department after they received a complaint in regard to a child being abused, while a female, later identified as Lindsay Freeland, 31, was heard in the background of a video encouraging and instructing cruel behavior.
-
Sheriff Reader says Mrs. Freeland was heard telling the a group of older children to punch another female child in the head, and further instructed them to not hit her in the face too much, as she didn’t want the child to go to school with bruises.
-
Mrs. Freeland can allegedly be heard in a video posted to social media saying “Come on, you’re not doing it enough, punch her in the head.”
-
In 48 seconds of video received, the older children can be seen shoving, pinching, and punching the child a total of 45 times while she screamed and cried in pain.
-
A Pike County Sheriff’s Deputy quickly responded along with Pike County Children Services to the home of Mrs. Freeland where the children were immediately removed and placed into safe environments.
-
Mrs. Freeland was subsequently arrested and transported to the Pike County Jail on a single count each of child endangering and domestic violence. She appeared in Pike County Court on Monday morning where she received a $30,000 bond.
-
After conducting an interview with authorities, Mrs. Freeland confirmed that there were a total of three children involved in the incident. She was subsequently charged with two additional counts of child endangering. She’ll be arraigned on those two charges on Wednesday, May 8th in Pike County Court.