Warrant Issued for Eagan Woman Accused of Whipping Girls with Belt

A nationwide arrest warrant has been issued for an Eagan woman charged with beating her three children with a metal-studded belt in May.

Tiffany Lashawn Bentford, 37, faces three counts of malicious punishment of a child. The charges are gross misdemeanors, each of which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the three children contacted police on May 24 and told them that Bentford had awakened her and her two sisters at about 1 a.m. and had hit all three of them – all younger than 18 – with a metal-studded belt.

The girl told police that Bentford was upset about photos that she had posted online, and that she confronted her and one of her sisters “in a verbally explosive manner” before she began hitting them both repeatedly with the belt.

She said Bentford hit her sister repeatedly in the face, back and arms for about a half-hour, then struck her repeatedly, encouraging her to fight back.

An officer who investigated the report said the girl who contacted police had bruises and welts on her arms that were consistent with being struck with a metal-studded belt.

The third girl said she ran and hid in a closet when Bentford woke them up, but Bentford found her and struck her with the belt as well. She said she also saw Bentford hit one of the other two girls with her fist.

The third girl said Bentford told her that if she was involved in anything that her sisters were doing, she would rip her braids out of her head.

One of the girls told police that she tried to delete the photos from the website, but Bentford continued to hit her while she was at the computer. She said the attack went on for several hours, and that the children weren’t allowed to go back to bed until about 3 a.m.

Bentford admitted to police that she woke up the three girls to confront them with the photos, and said she had used a belt to strike the girls, who she said blocked the blows by putting up their hands and arms, according to the complaint.

Bentford also admitted that she had hit the girls with her fist and had struck them on their arms and legs, and showed police a belt with decorative metal studs that she said she used to “spank” the girls, the complaint says.