Liberty woman charged with felonious assault on boy, 4

Staff report

WARREN

Jenna R. Nobbs, 30, of Church Hill-Hubbard Road in Liberty, pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of felonious assault and child endangering, accused of causing serious bruising on the body of a boy, 4, in her care last spring.

Nobbs was indicted secretly in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on the charges, which could carry more than 10 years in prison if she’s convicted.

She remains in the Trumbull County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bond.

Her boyfriend, Ronald D. Newell, 41, of the same address, was charged with misdemeanor child endangering in the case and was arraigned Friday in Girard Municipal Court.

His charge accuses him of failing to protect the child from the assaults the child suffered at the hands of Nobbs. Newell was released from the jail after posting $7,500 bond.

Police said Newell took the victim to a woman’s house for a visit in May, and the woman called police, saying the boy had excessive bruising. Because the child’s mother is in prison, the child was living with Newell, who is his father, the woman said.

Nobbs is Newell’s girlfriend.

When the boy was examined, authorities discovered the boy had severe bruising on one arm, as if someone had grabbed the arm tightly and squeezed it, police said. The boy was having trouble moving the arm.

He also had abrasions on his chin and bruising on the tops of his ears, other arm, buttocks and legs.

The boy was taken to Akron Children’s Hospital in Boardman for treatment, and Trumbull County Children Services took custody.