***UPDATE 12/17/2024 3:15 p.m.***
The charges against 29-year-old Dijonte C. Lockbridge and 30-year-old Steven J. Juliana are now official. Click here to get the latest.
***Original Story***
Two Manitowoc residents are facing charges after they allegedly gave a child “the worst whooping ever.”
Manitowoc Police became involved after Child Protective Services were contacted on December 9th by a teacher at a Manitowoc Elementary School.
A student informed school staff that they were not going to be at school that day after they received “the worst whooping ever.”
When interviewed by CPS and Manitowoc Police, the victim said the suspect became angry when some gummy bears were taken from her room.
She then allegedly struck the child repeatedly with a belt, and if they were to cry, the woman would flip the belt and use the buckle to strike them.
When approached by police, the 29-year-old woman initially refused to speak with the officers but eventually complied.
She denied hitting the child, and when officers inspected the child and found visible injuries, she said she didn’t know where the injuries came from.
She changed her story several times, initially claiming the injuries were not from a belt, despite the police never mentioning a belt, and then said they came from the child being thrown into a bedpost by another child or from them jumping off a bed.
The child was taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation, and a follow-up interview was conducted.
The child elaborated on the incident, noting that a man who also lives in the home came into the room after a woman hit them with a belt and kicked them twice.
He then allegedly held the victim up against a wall while the woman used the belt again.
The 30-year-old man admitted to participating in the incident.
He was arrested on charges of Strangulation and Suffocation and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, while the woman was taken into custody on a charge of Physical Abuse of a Child.
