The mother of an 11-year-old boy and her boyfriend were arrested after police said an employee at a local Illinois business found the child badly beaten with blood on his face.
The employee at a Fox Lake business called police the morning of Friday, March 6, and described the boy as having “welts, bruises, and scratches across his body,” according to the Fox Lake Police Department.
According to court documents viewed by CBS News, the child fled from his home to the business, where he reported his mother assaulted him, on March 6.
Fox Lake investigators and officers then met with the employee and the boy, who was “wearing only underwear” and appeared “battered,” the department said in a news release issued Monday, March 9.
The child was taken to Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital for a medical assessment as officers headed to his mother’s home, according to police.
At the Fox Lake residence, officers arrested his mother, Priscilla P. Marshall, police said. Fox Lake is a suburb of Chicago.
An investigation revealed that Marshall and her boyfriend, Cody R. Marion, had abused her 11-year-old son for several years, according to police, including by beating him with household items and pouring dish soap in his mouth and ears.
The couple would also not let the boy attend school, police said.
Marshall, 34, and Marion, 35, are charged with aggravated battery to a child, domestic battery involving bodily harm, domestic battery involving physical contact, and endangering the life or health of a child, according to police.
It was not currently clear whether Marshall and Marion had retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
The boy told authorities that he awoke to Marshall tossing items at his house that morning while Marion was cleaning dishes, according to prosecutors.
Marshall allegedly began beating him and told him that “nobody loves him” while his two younger sisters cried, prosecutors said in court filings, CBS News reported.
The boy said that his mother punched him in his face, causing his nose to bleed, and poured dish soap in his mouth and ear, according to court documents viewed by the outlet.
When officers arrested Marshall, they found two children, ages 1 and 2, who “appeared unharmed” at her home, according to police.
They learned that Marshall had two more sons who had been attending school at the time of her arrest, police said. All of the children were taken into protective custody before officers returned to the house to arrest Marion, according to police.
The 11-year-old boy told investigators that Marshall would not beat his four siblings, just him, according to authorities, CBS News reported.
In addition to allegedly beating him with extension cords, metal spatulas and spoons, Marshall is accused of threatening to stab the child in his back, prosecutors said, according to CBS News.
She also made her 13-year-old son beat the 11-year-old, according to court documents viewed by the outlet.
According to Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kathleen Laughlin, Marshall would force the 11-year-old child to write the phrase, “you’re not a loved child, everybody hates you” repeatedly in a notebook, the Lake and McHenry County Scanner reported. The boy was also forced to eat food out of cans while the family enjoyed McDonald’s, cops said.
Marshall was due in court for a detention hearing on Tuesday, March 10, according to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors have filed a petition for her detention.
On March 9, a judge granted prosecutors’ request to detain Marion, the state’s attorney’s office said in a news release.
In a statement, Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart vowed to hold Marshall and Marion accountable.
“To think of a child having to flee their own parents is heartbreaking, and I would tell anyone abusing their child that you will face serious consequences when we find you,” Rinehart said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
