By Shereen Siewert
A 34-year-old Portage woman is facing felony child abuse accusations after a child told police the woman placed a bar of soap in his mouth and ripped out two of his teeth during an argument.
Portage police say discovered a bar of soap with teeth marks and blood before Amy L. Gilbert was taken into custody. In addition to the felony child abuse charge filed Feb. 17 in Columbia County Circuit Court, Gilbert also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer stemming from an alleged struggle with police while being taken into custody.
The alleged incident happened Feb. 12. Police say a sibling heard the child crying and Gilbert yelling, then reportedly saw blood coming from the victim’s mouth.
Police say Gilbert admitted using the soap in the incident that began after the alleged victim was kicked off a bus.
During an initial appearance Monday, Circuit Judge Andrew Voigt set a $5,000 signature bond for Gilbert. She will only be allowed supervised visits with the child if authorized through a proceeding with Child Protective Services.
Gilbert, who faces up to 3 1/2 years in the Wisconsin Prison System if she is convicted on the felony charge alone, has a pre-trial conference scheduled for March 16 in the case.
