Mom Enters Not Guilty Plea in Child Abuse Case

A Port Washington mom facing 30 years in prison and $100,000 in fines after being charged with hitting her two children with a belt entered a not guilty plea in court on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old woman is charged with two counts of physical abuse of a child recklessly causing great bodily harm. The not guilty plea means the case is currently slated for trial, though no date has been set; the defendant will appear in court again at 10 a.m. Thursday for further proceedings. The woman is not being named to protect the children's identities.

According to the the criminal complain, her 12-year-old son told police that about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 28 his mother used a leather belt and hit his forearm, leaving a mark that measured 6 to 8 inches in length that caused him "pain."

The daughter, who turned 14 the day after the incident, told police she tried to intervene while her mom was hitting her brother, the complaint said. Her mother then grabbed her by the hair and puller her out of the house using "very bad words," toward the girl. The mother drove her to Upper Lake Park where she struck the daughter with the belt, also on her forearm.

The woman shows no prior criminal record in CCAP.