PARAGOULD – Second Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington announced that a Greene County Circuit Court jury convicted Angela Engeron, 38, of Paragould, for first-degree battery in the scalding of her step-granddaughter.
Circuit Judge Barbara Halsey sentenced Engeron to 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Correction, which is the maximum penalty for the felony offense.
The jury deliberated for 39 minutes before finding Engeron guilty following a two-day trial that concluded Wednesday evening. They then took 40 minutes in rendering the penalty, Ellington said.
Engeron was charged after Paragould police arrested her in January 2018 when the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline received a report that a 3-year-old girl suffered burns to more than 40 percent of her body after she was held in scalding water. A doctor who examined the girl said her injuries were consistent with an “immersion burn and non-accidental trauma,” Detective Rhonda Thomas of the Paragould Police Department reported.
“The child will be physically scarred for the rest of her life due to Engeron’s actions,” Ellington said. “We appreciate the dedication and hard work of detective Rhonda Thomas and deputy prosecutors Robert Thompson and Adam Butler in their pursuit of justice on behalf of the young victim.
“We also thank the jury for their time and the attention they gave to this very important case,” he said.
press release
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