Natrona County Woman Admits Abusing Toddler
A woman who allegedly said she lost control of her emotions and physically injured a toddler in her care could face decades behind bars.
Jordan Reann Fleck, 27, pleaded guilty Monday in Natrona County District Court to two counts of child abuse.
Each charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine, but prosecutors agreed to argue Fleck spend no more than five years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
Court documents say the investigation began Oct. 24 when two parents went to the Natrona County Sheriff's Office to report injuries suffered by their child.
The child's mother noticed the injury when she went to pick the child up from Fleck, the child's babysitter, on Oct. 22. After picking her child up, the mother noticed the injury getting worse and took the child to a hospital.
The injuries included a large bump which reportedly spanned the width of the child's forehead. Doctors at Wyoming Medical Center had determined the child had suffered an "acute closed head injury, manifesting as a posterior scalp hematoma," according to an affidavit. The child was also "likely having a mild post concussive syndrome as well."
Over the next two days, the hematoma increased in size and discoloration until it covered about half of the child's head.
"The hematoma was so large [the child]'s eyes were forced almost entirely closed at times," the affidavit reads.
An investigator with the Natrona County Sheriff's Office looked into Fleck's past babysitting the child. The child's parents reportedly said the child was injured several other times while in Fleck's care.
One such occasion was Sept. 15. The mother picked the child up from Fleck's house and, when she returned home and began changing the child's diaper, she noticed a large amount of bruising on the child's right hip area.
The mother photographed the bruising and showed it to Fleck, who reportedly suggested the child might have gotten hurt while playing at the park.
The investigator saw the picture, noting in court documents that the bruising extended up into the child's stomach area and toward the center of the abdomen.
"The bruising included a naturally protected area, the soft stomach tissue, which was consistent with non-accidental trauma," the investigator wrote in his affidavit.
A forensic pathologist later said a "high amount of physical force" would usually be required to cause a hematoma in the area where the child's head injury was found, court documents say. The doctor also said while bruising on the top of the hip bone can commonly result from accidents, bruising of the abdomen area was unusual, meaning it was likely related to "direct, unexplained, forceful blunt trauma."
In an interview with authorities, Fleck first said she didn't know how the child's head was hurt at her house. She reportedly suggested her daughter had seen the child accidentally fall into a corner when Fleck wasn't around.
But when the investigator confronted Fleck with the likelihood that the child's injuries were not accidental, Flek allegedly admitted to causing the child's head and hip injuries.
She reportedly said both injuries were the result of her pushing the child into the corner of a wall within her home. Fleck said when the child would misbehave, she would have him stand in a corner. On both occasions, the child refused to stay in the corner, and Fleck "lost control of her emotions."
She allegedly admitted to shoving the child into the corner multiple times, describing her behavior as "ridiculous."
Fleck remains free on bond pending her sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.