Cases Dropped, Specialty Court Ordered for Co-Defendants in ‘Child Fight Club’ Case

JONESBORO, Ark. — One of the co-defendants in the “child fight club” case has had her case transferred to specialty court, while two other co-defendants had their cases dropped.

Katherine Lipscomb, who faced charges of permitting child abuse and failure to notify by a mandated reporter, has had her case transferred to Restoration Court. Prosecutors described it as typically a six-month program. The defendant must report monthly and appear before a judge.

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If the defendant has a felony charge with no or low criminal history, and if they complete everything as they are supposed to, the case may be dismissed at the end, and they’re no longer a felon.

If, for any reason, it does not work out, Lipscomb would be transferred back to circuit court and face a felony conviction.

Lipscomb also must take mandated reporter training, perform 40 hours of community service at a nonprofit with special needs children, and enroll in anger management classes.

The no-contact order was also removed at the request of the victim and his mother.

NEA Report reached out to Lipscomb’s attorney, Randel Miller, for comment.

“Well, I can say she is that she is excited about having this case resolved and to be able to have contact with the school and the students again. If you recall, we had a hearing a long time ago, trying to get this order lifted and every parent at the school signed a statement saying that they wanted Katie to come back.

She has young children that have friends at the school but with the no contact order she had to limit that contact. So it’s an exciting day for her and her kids to be able to return to the life she had before these charges.”

– Randel Miller

NEA Report also asked Prosecuting Attorney Sonia Hagood for comment:

“We understand and share the public’s outrage over these actions. The facts of this case are disturbing, and nothing about this resolution should be interpreted as minimizing the harm done to this child and family.

Our responsibility is not only to seek justice, but to carefully evaluate what outcome best protects and serves this victim and any future victim. After reviewing the law, the evidence, and the very real emotional impact a trial would have required this child to endure, we believed this plea agreement was in the best interest of the case and consistent with the wishes of the victim and his mother.

Mary Morrison and Katherine Lipscomb accepted this plea in open court after actively seeking this resolution. Any suggestion now that they were treated unfairly or that this office acted unjustly is simply an attempt to deflect responsibility from their conduct.”

– Sonia Hagood

Cases against Michael Bean Jr. and Kristen Bell were nolle prosequi on Wednesday, May 6, according to court filings. Both defendants’ cases were dropped at the request of the victim and his mother, the orders signed by Circuit Judge Chris Thyer said.

Earlier this week, the primary defendant in the case, Mary “Tracy” Morrison, was sentenced to 60 months’ probation for Permitting Child Abuse and 12 months’ probation for each count of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile. She will also serve 30 days in the county jail. Upon release, Morrison will complete 120 days of house arrest with electronic monitoring.

Mary “Tracy” Morrison Pleads Guilty In Child Abuse Case