Mom, aunt charged in spanking of boy, 12

By JOE ELIAS
The Patriot-News
Mar. 09, 2007

Nancy L. Simpson told police her 12-year-old nephew was "being bad," so she spanked him with a wooden back scratcher wrapped in electrical tape while the boy's mother watched, court records state.

The two women then left the screaming boy alone in Simpson's Marysville home and attended a parent-teacher conference on Nov. 9 at the Susquenita School District, the records state.

The boy's screaming was so loud that neighbors called for help. He was admitted to the hospital with severely bruised buttocks, the records state.

Simpson, 37, of the 400 block of Valley Street, was charged with simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The boy's mother, Charlie Hackman, 31, of East Washington Street, Elizabethtown, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

Both women pleaded not guilty to all counts last week in Perry County Court.

Hackman told police she thought the child was fine when she and Simpson left him alone at home, the records state.

Simpson's attorney, Jerry A. Philpott, and Hackman's attorney, Shaubot C. Walz, the county's public defender, both declined to comment on the case. Attempts to reach Hackman and Simpson were unsuccessful.

District Attorney Charles Chenot said that while it is legal for parents and relatives to spank a child in their care, a punishment that leaves a child injured could involve the authorities.

"Legally, there's nothing wrong with paddling," Chenot said. "The problem comes if a child has been left badly bruised or bleeding."