Cape mother charged with felony child abuse

Southeast Missourian

A Cape Girardeau woman was charged Friday with whipping her 6-year-old daughter.

On Thursday, a school resource officer came to Jefferson Elementary School to investigate a case of possible child abuse after a school administrator noticed bruises on a girl's neck, according to police Cpl. Jason Selzer.

Upon a closer investigation, the girl had bruises "too numerous to count ... over the child's entire body," Selzer said, quoting from the police report. A probable-cause statement filed in the case listed marks and bruises to her face, arms, legs, back, neck and abdomen.

The girl told the school resource officer that when she brought home a note from school about her inappropriate behavior, her mother whipped her with a belt, according to Selzer.

She was placed into protective custody and turned over to the state's Department of Social Services Children's Division.

The mother, Cittie L. Wade, 28, of 625 N. Lorimier St., was charged with felony abuse of a child and had a cash-only bond set at $15,000.

If Wade is able to secure her bond, she is ordered to have no contact with the victim and must stay more than 500 feet away from where the child is staying.