Atlantic City Grand Jury Charges Barnegat Mom With Aggravated Assault Of Her Baby

An Atlantic County grand jury has indicted a Barnegat woman on aggravated assault charges on her two-month old baby in an Atlantic City casino back in 2015, Acting Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said.

Ashley M. Godfrey, 19, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child, Ruberton said.

Atlantic City police and emergency medical services responded to Bally's Atlantic Hotel and Casino at 7:30 p.m. on May 25, 2015 on a report of an infant having trouble breathing. She was airlifted to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in critical condition, Ruberton said.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Atlantic City Police Department, and the
State Division of Protection and Permanency (CP&P) initiated an investigation that
culminated with the authorization of charges by the Atlantic County Prosecutor on April
26, 2016 for aggravated assault and child endangerment against Godfrey.

Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office detectives arrested Godfrey at
her place of employment in Tom River, NJ, and charged her aggravated assault for "recklessly causing life-threatening injuries" to her child.with aggravated assault and the endangerment charge.

The exact nature of the baby's injuries were not described in the release.

Godfrey was transported to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, processed, then taken to the Atlantic County Justice Facility on $100,000 cash.

She was indicted by the Grand Jury on Feb. 23.

Image: Patch file photo.