Two Fayetteville women face felony charges of second-degree battery and permitting child abuse after an occupational therapist noticed third-degree burns on an 11-year-old boy’s legs.
Sharanda Hammock, 27, and Cecily Sharp, 23, were arrested by Fayetteville police Saturday and booked into the Washington County Detention Center, according to the sheriff department’s website. Bond has not been announced for either woman on the website.
A preliminary police report said the occupational therapist noticed the boy’s injuries on Wednesday and suspected the boy was also dehydrated when he complained of being cold. The therapist called Hammock, the boy’s foster mother, and Hammock told the therapist that the boy sustained the injuries during a bath.
A preliminary police report said the injuries were sustained on Nov. 4.
The report said Hammock said the injuries occurred when Sharp, Hammock’s girlfriend, heated water for the bath in a pot on the stove because there was a lack of hot water because laundry had been done. Hammock said Sharp poured the water in the tub, ran additional water, but Hammock went into the bathroom when she heard a commotion, the report said.
Hammock said she found the boy partially out of the tub, complaining about the water being hot, and she helped him out of the tub, the report said. The report said Hammock said she noticed redness on the boy’s legs and genitals.
Hammock said she tried to treat the injuries with a cool compress but the wounds began to blister the next day, the report said. The report said Hammock was told by Sharp she had seen the boy rub the burns with a wash cloth and cause them to bleed.
Both women were interviewed by the Fayetteville police on Saturday and the report said Hammock’s explanation did not match the injuries the boy had. The report said Sharp’s statements did not match Hammock’s.
The report said both women said they should have sought medical attention for the boy’s injuries.
