Child abuse nets Clinton woman 15 years
Erica Kelley
A Clinton woman received a 15-year prison sentence Thursday afternoon in 8th Circuit General Sessions Court for abusing her infant son.
Erica Shunta Kelley, 25, pleaded guilty to inflicting great bodily injury on a child. Judge Allison Lee then handed down the 15-year sentence – close to the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Kelley had a prior conviction of unlawful abuse or neglect of a child stemming from a 2013 incident with another one of her children.
Clinton police investigators received information in July 2018 that Kelley was abusing her 9-month-old son and went to Kelley’s residence. There, they found the infant with several injuries indicative of severe abuse. The child was transported to the hospital and found to have bruises all over his body, including his face. His right arm was bruised and swollen, and his left arm and left leg were both broken. There were also several scars all over his body and 10 healing rib fractures.
Kelley admitted to physically abusing the child on multiple occasion, according to court documents.
