Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Probation Given In Child Battery Case

A 24-year-old Prescott woman pled nolo contendere to two counts of domestic battery concerning a two-year-old child.

According to court records, the Nevada County Sheriff's Office got a call from the Children's Protective Services of Little Rock around 10 a.m. Aug. 15, 2000.

Deputy Hebb Sorrells spoke to Cindy Broadwater, with the CPS, and was informed a two-year-old child had arrived at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) with two broken legs.

Dr. Jerry Jones with ACH examined the child and found fractures in both femurs and one tibia. He also discovered the child had suffered six broken ribs within the past six weeks. There was also a bruise on the toddler's cheek.

The injuries were consistent with child abuse and the incident reported.

According to the court records, the child had been vaccinated at the Nevada County Health Unit Aug. 7, 2000, and showed no sign of leg injuries at the time.

The mother, Rachel Thompson, was questioned about the child's injuries and reportedly gave several accounts of how they may have occurred. The dates, records show, weren't consistent with the injuries.

Thompson told officials the child's ribs could have been broken when it fell off her chest while she was lying down. She didn't seek medical attention for the toddler, because she didn't realize the child's ribs had been broken, records state.

Michael Cooper, the child's father, reportedly said he'd seen her jerk the child from the bed on a number of occasions.

Other witnesses, records state, said they had seen the child be neglected several times.

Thompson entered a plea of nolo contendere (no contest) Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court North.

She was given five years probation, fined $500 and court costs.