By Shereen Siewert
A Wausau mother is accused of repeatedly abusing her children and allowing her boyfriend to abuse their infant daughter, despite a court order requiring the man to have no contact with her or the child.
Kassandra Meloy, 29, faces two counts of child abuse-intentionally causing harm, two counts of child abuse/failure to prevent bodily harm, and a single count of encouraging a probation or parole violation. The charges were filed Nov. 15 in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Court records detail the investigation, which launched Nov. 11 in relation to a truancy case. In interviews, an 11-year-old child allegedly told investigators he was truant from school because he was staying home to prevent his mother’s boyfriend, Elton Carter, from shaking his infant sister.
Two of Meloy’s children said they were repeatedly beaten by Carter with hands and a belt. The children said they “get hit every day,” according to police reports. In addition, one of the children told investigators Meloy uses a spoon to beat the children and directed one of the children to beat the other with the spoon, according to court documents. One of the children said he regularly gets a “whooping” on his back, buttocks and forehead and is having nightmares that frighten him.
Court filings state that Elton Carter is on probation stemming from an earlier abuse charge in which Meloy was the victim. Carter’s rules of probation prohibit him from being at Meloy’s home or having contact with her two other children, and contact with Meloy was restricted to an 8-hour period during daytime hours. But police say Carter was secretly staying at Meloy’s home for months.
Social workers removed the children from Meloy’s care. She was arrested after a temporary physical custody hearing at the Marathon County Courthouse based on the children’s statements and suspicious bruising discovered on the children, court documents state. The children were taken for a medical examination.
On Nov. 12, police searched Meloy’s home but did not locate Carter, who allegedly missed an appointment with his Milwaukee probation agent. Carter’s agent put out an apprehension request for Carter, court documents state.
During an initial appearance Nov. 15, Circuit Judge Greg Strasser set a $950 signature bond for Meloy and ordered her to have no contact with Carter or the three children named as victims in the case.
A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 3.
