A 29-year-old Aurora man pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in a felony child abuse case and was assessed a suspended imposition of sentence and probation.
Jerrid Cunningham pleaded guilty to first-degree child endangerment at a hearing in Lawrence County Circuit Court in a plea deal.
Cunningham was accused of abusing his 11-year-old stepson. The boy told school officials and Aurora-Marionville police that his stepfather became upset with him for not being honest and grabbed him by the arm and pushed him down on the floor. He said his stepfather then beat his buttocks with a belt.
According to a probable-cause affidavit, investigators saw marks on the boy's arm and bruising and swelling on his buttocks that appeared to corroborate his account.
The boy said Cunningham told him that he did not want him any longer and "kicked him out of the house" by taking him to his birth father's residence in another town and leaving him there.
Stepfather takes plea deal on abuse charge
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — A 29-year-old Aurora man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a reduced charge in a felony child abuse case and was assessed a suspended imposition of sentence and
