Raytown couple charged after boy hospitalized in KC, injuries described as ‘child torture’
A Raytown man and woman have been accused of child abuse after a boy left in their care was hospitalized in Kansas City with injuries described as “child torture.”
The Jackson County prosecutor charged James E. Griffin Jr., 39, and Penny Woods, 36, over the weekend with one count each of child abuse or neglect of a child they were responsible for caring for by failing to provide adequate nutrition and failing to seek medical attention. As a result, Griffin and Woods allegedly knowingly caused the child to suffer serious physical injury, according to the charges.
The investigation began late Friday when the boy, whose age was not released, was taken to a hospital.
According to court documents, a Raytown police officer responded to the hospital shortly before midnight regarding a report of child abuse. A case worker reported said the boy was brought into the emergency department with extensive injuries, including scars, open sores, bruises and burns. His ear appeared infected and almost swollen shut with scabbing.
Most of the boy’s teeth were missing and his mouth was significantly swollen. The officer noticed part of the bridge of the boy’s nose was missing, and his feet had open sores and bruises.
A social worker told police that the boy had an altered mental state, apparent chronic malnutrition and a compression fracture of his spine, as well as other injuries, including broken bones. The social worker said it appeared the victim had been bound or tied up.
A doctor diagnosed the boy with “child torture” due to the degree of his present and past injuries, which went beyond the traditional diagnosis of child abuse, according to court documents. The boy remained hospitalized and was on a ventilator over the weekend.
Police contacted the boy’s mother, who said she had left the boy and his sister in the care of Woods, who lived with Griffin. The court documents do not state their relationship, but the two have a daughter together.
The mother told police she hadn’t seen her children for several years because she was working on her recovery. The mother said she never received photos of the children as they got older.
The mother said Woods called her “out of the blue” on Thursday, saying she could no longer handle the boy’s behavior because he was always fighting with his sister. The mother told police she thought Woods was upset about how “teenagers could act.”
Woods called again on Friday and told the mother she needed to pick up the boy. When she arrived, she said she found the boy lying on his bed, and that he appeared cold. She noticed injuries to his face. She told police she didn’t want to make a scene, got her son into the car, and headed to her apartment.
While helping her son into her apartment, he collapsed. The mother believes a neighbor witnessed that and called 911. The boy was then taken to a hospital and transferred to another hospital.
Police searched Woods and Griffin’s home and allegedly found one room with a broken bed frame and a piece of cloth tied around one of the exterior rails. There was no mattress. One of the doors had been screwed shut. Police also found evidence of blood in the room as well as marks in the ceiling consistent with it being hit by a thin, flexible object such as an extension cord, according to court documents.
Neighbors told police they knew a man and woman lived at the home and saw them with two girls, but they never recalled seeing a boy.
Police took Griffin and Woods into custody separately. The two girls were taken into protective custody. The girl left in Woods’ care was examined at a hospital following the arrests, and she had bruises and marks consistent with being whipped or struck with a cord. The girl allegedly said that her brother caused the injuries. The girl was diagnosed with physical child abuse.
When police interviewed Woods, she initially denied the abuse allegations, according to court documents. Woods allegedly said the two children always fought and that’s how the boy was injured. She also told police she never whipped the children.
After being confronted with the boy’s condition, Woods allegedly recanted and admitted to whipping the boy with a telephone cord. She allegedly said Griffin whipped the boy regularly with a cord. She also said Griffin had beaten the boy every other day for the past six months, according to court documents.
When interviewed by police, Griffin told them he was not responsible for the children and did not watch them at the house. When he would leave, he would only take his daughter, according to court documents.
He told police the girl and boy were the ones who injured each other because they fought all the time. When asked about beating the boy with an extension cord, he allegedly refused to speak about it, saying he was done and that police “didn’t have anything on him.”
He also allegedly said, “Ain’t no way that Penny can say I’m the one that did that,” in reference to the alleged abuse.
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 1:05 PM.
