Mother Charged Along With Boyfriend In Near-Death Child Beating

WEST CHESTER, PA — A 9-year-old girl remains in critical condition after her mother's boyfriend nearly beat her to death earlier this week, but as authorities investigated further, they say they discovered both adults participated in the systematic abuse and torture of the child.

The boyfriend was charged in West Chester on Tuesday with Attempted Homicide and the today the mother has also been charged with a list of crimes related to the severe abuse of the child.

The Chester County District Attorney's Office and the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department late on Thanksgiving Day charged Julianne Lewis, 31, of West Chester, with multiple counts of Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping a Minor, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, False Imprisonment, Conspiracy, and related charges for her role in the brutal beating, systemic abuse, and neglect of her 9-year old daughter. The district attorney called the actions related to the charges, "despicable."

Lewis's boyfriend, Dimitrios Moscharis, 34, was arrested and charged with Attempted Homicide and other charges on Tuesday.

The child victim remains in critical condition at Nemours/A.I. DuPont Hospital in Wilmington, Del. with injuries to multiple organs, extensive bruising all over her body, and likely brain damage due to oxygen deprivation for an extended period, the district attorney's office reported Friday.

Medical professionals assessed the child's injuries to be consistent with trauma and child torture, officials said.

Tests showed that she likely suffered brain damage because she was deprived of oxygen for a significant time, indicating strangulation or suffocation. Doctors also reported injury to the ligaments along her spinal cord, consistent with imprisonment in a small space and the child contorting her body during an assault and/or after the loss of consciousness.

The child's body had bruising patterns consistent with objects found near the bathroom, including a curtain rod, hanger, and other implements.

According to the D.A.'s complaint, Lewis allowed her boyfriend of two months to "discipline" her 9-year-old daughter in a manner that medical experts in child welfare said are consistent with trauma, torture, and systemic abuse, based on the child's injuries.

Since Tuesday's charges against the boyfriend, a continued investigation unveiled disturbing allegations that led to the charges against the victim's mother. The district attorney alleges that on Sunday, the 9-year-old girl was forced into a two-foot by three-foot closet for more than 15 hours with clothes dumped on her and without access to food, water, or a bathroom.

During that time, Lewis went to work, returned home, and then left again with Moscharis to purchase marijuana. When the two returned home, "they got high and fell asleep while the child remained in the closet," the D.A.'s report said.

The defendant made no effort to release her daughter, check on her, or help her, the complaint states.

Additionally, the pair forced the child to walk up and down the stairs with her arms outstretched for hours at a time, reportedly Lewis's punishment of choice for her daughter, the D.A.'s report said. They also locked her in the closet for extended periods, made her kneel on a pile of hangers, and made her sleep on a concrete floor in the basement on numerous occasions, according the the district attorney's report.

Investigators learned that co-defendant Moscharis forcefully grabbed the child by her shoulders and covered her mouth with his hand while verbally berating her. These assaults took place over approximately two weeks in Lewis's presence, but she did nothing to help the victim, the report said.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said, "It is incomprehensible that a mother would not only engage in this horrific treatment of her child but also fail to intervene to protect her from abuse from a man she just met. She participated in a systemic abuse pattern that violated her duty of care and subjected her (child) to unimaginable acts of cruelty. Her failure to render aid to her child is despicable."

A seasoned child abuse detective said that the child's bruising all over her body was the worst he's ever seen in his career, Ryan reported earlier this week.

The criminal complaint against Moscharis alleges that the child was in his care very early Monday morning when police received a report of an unconscious child in a Westtown Township home.

Police said the child's mother reported that while she was driving for Lyft in Northeast Philadelphia, she received a text from the defendant, her boyfriend, to come home immediately. When the mother arrived home, she said she found her daughter unconscious, wet, and fully clothed in the bathtub. The house was "in disarray, indicating a struggle," police reported.

Lewis and Moscharis pulled the girl from the bathtub to perform CPR after Lewis called 911, officials reported. By the time that call was made, the child could have been unresponsive for as long as 45 minutes, the district attorney's office said Tuesday afternoon.

Police said they found the child unresponsive on the bathroom floor when they arrived. When EMS removed her clothes to perform life-saving measures, they found extensive bruising all over her body that appeared both old and new, the complaint said.

Doctors at DuPont said the victim suffered a "near fatality," meaning she suffered life-threatening injuries, including to her lungs, the report stated.

Lewis later told police that she and Moscharis had been dating for about two months. Lewis told police that Moscharis saw her struggling to control her daughter, and he told Lewis the child needed to be disciplined. After that, whenever the child acted out or didn't listen, Lewis told police she allowed the defendant to hit her with a curtain rod or a baton used to open and close window blinds.

Investigators learned that Moscharis had failed to call 911 for help on Monday, despite knowing the child had stopped breathing for at least 10-15 minutes, according to the criminal complaint.

When Lewis returned home from work she finally called 911. Lewis said Moscharis told her to lie to the police and state that the child's biological father injured the child, according to the report.

Dr. Brenda Bernot, Chief of Police at Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department, stated, "Children are the most vulnerable members of our society, and it is heartbreaking and unimaginable that anyone could abuse a child in such a horrific manner. The Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department is committed to pursuing every possible lead to ensure that those responsible for this horrific crime are brought to justice."

Lewis was arraigned on Friday before District Judge Grover Koon. Both she and Moscharis are presently in Chester County Prison without bail.

"We are grateful to the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department and the Chester County Detectives for their tireless efforts in this investigation. We will get justice for this child," said Ryan.

Anyone with information is urged to call Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866 or Westtown-East Goshen Police Det. Russel Weaverling at 610-692-9600.

This case is being prosecuted by Chester County Deputy District Attorney Erin O'Brien.

If you suspect child abuse contact ChildLine at 800-932-0313.

Read and earlier report on the case here.