Crime and Court Roundup: Nineteen-year-old charged with felony child abuse

Talk about it

Authorities in Wausau said a man had suspicions about his baby-sitter – so he secretly videotaped her, and the evidence is now part of a child abuse case against her. 19-year-old Jennifer Cronin of Rothschild is charged in Marathon County with felony reckless child abuse. According to prosecutors, the father installed a camera because he thought Cronin was not watching his children carefully enough, after a two-year-old boy fell down some stairs. Officials said the parents reviewed the videotape and then called police. A criminal complaint said Cronin repeated struck a four-month-old boy in the face-and-head, and grabbed the baby’s wrist and yanked him from a floor into the air. Cronin’s attorney says the allegations are out-of-character for her. She’s free on a signature bond, and is due back in court April 9th for a pre-trial proceeding. A preliminary hearing is set for April 25th.

__________________________________________________________________________

After hearing more than two weeks of testimony, a Madison jury could decide as early as today whether Chad Chritton is guilty of torturing his teenage daughter. Closing arguments are expected today, after the 41-year-old Chritton changed his mind about testifying yesterday. He told the judge that his learning disabilities would prevent him from following the lines of questioning – he proclaimed his innocence – and he said he didn’t want to jeopardize his case. Chritton is accused of starving and torturing his daughter who’s now 16. Prosecutors said the girl was locked in a basement for years, and she weighed just 68 pounds when she escaped the house in February of last year. The defense has claimed that the girl chose not to eat or dress appropriately, and was given those opportunities. Chritton is charged six abuse-related counts that include false imprisonment, causing mental harm, and reckless endangerment. His wife Melinda also has six felony charges pending, and their son is charged with molesting the girl.

___________________________________________________________________________

A Marine veteran from Milwaukee is being called a hero, after he stopped the battering of a woman in suburban West Allis early Tuesday. Charlie Blackmore Junior was driving home from work when he saw a man kicking somebody. So pulled up, got out, and saw the man walking away like nothing happened. Blackmore asked what was going on, and the man argued with him – so the Marine pulled a nine-millimeter weapon, and held the suspect at gunpoint until West Allis Police could come and arrest the suspect. Officials said the man was beating his ex-girlfriend at the time. Prosecutors are considering possible charges. Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Blackmore says his cellphone and Facebook accounts got locked up with messages once the word got out. Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke praised Blackmore – and the pro-gun sheriff hopes that someday, people will see this as doing their civic duty. And, oh yes – Blackmore has a state concealed weapons’ permit.

Tags: news, wisconsin, crime, courts