A father pleaded guilty Friday to endangering his 9-year-old daughter by failing to stop his mother from abusing the girl when they lived in Duryea and Plymouth.
Michael Thomas Law, 29, entered the plea agreement with prosecutors that calls for him to testify against his mother, Joann Ortmann, 60, and his wife, Cydney Magana, 26.
Police in Plymouth and Duryea arrested the trio in April after a four-month investigation alleging Ortmann abused and assaulted the girl and Law and Magana failed to stop her or seek medical attention for the child.
Court records say Ortmann resented the girl because she felt the child “snitched” on them about their living conditions in Duryea. Their house trailer in Duryea was condemned due to unsanitary conditions and code violations, court records say.
Police said the girl was placed in protective custody when they learned about the allegations in December.
According to the criminal complaints:
The girl was questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children’s Advocacy Center, saying her grandmother, Ortmann, smashed a cup over her head and laughed. She also claimed Ortmann threw her against a wall, struck her with a baseball bat, and would punch and pinch her, leaving bruises.
During an interview with police, Law claimed he was aware Ortmann threw a ceramic cup at the girl, causing a laceration on the girl’s head which he treated at home. Magana gave a conflicting report to police, saying Law took the girl to an urgent care center.
Law told police Ortmann called the girl derogatory names and refused to allow the child eat with the family. Instead Ortmann threw food at the girl making her eat off the floor, the complaints say.
Law said he was afraid to report his mother because he feared Ortmann would blame him for the abuse.
Law pleaded guilty to two separate counts of endangering the welfare of children.
Magana is facing two counts of child endangerment and a single count of false imprisonment, and Ortmann is charged with two counts of child endangerment and one count each of false imprisonment, simple assault and criminal conspiracy in county court. Magana and Ortmann remain jailed for lack of $500,000 and $325,000 bail, each.