Jeremy Betts jailed again, charged with beating 5-year-old with cord

AUSTINTOWN

An Austintown Elementary School security officer called this child-abuse case “the worst she has seen.”

A teacher first noticed several whip marks from the 5-year-old girl’s wrists to shoulders, according to a township police report. A Mahoning County Children Services Board case worker later found additional marks on the child’s back, chest, neck and both legs.

Jeremy L. Betts, 33, of Edinburg Drive, Austintown, faces a felony count of child endangering and a misdemeanor count of domestic violence for reportedly striking the child repeatedly with a cellphone charger cord as punishment for poor behavior at school, according to the report.

A 7-year-old also living in the home told police she heard the child crying the night prior as she was struck 64 times, the report states.

The 5-year-old victim initially claimed another relative struck her, but the 7-year-old told police Betts instructed her to claim they were struck by that relative “so he would not get arrested since he had just been released from prison,” the report states.

A counselor told police the 5-year-old “began to cry when discussing returning to the residence,” the report states.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.