"Toddler John" DALE - 3 yo (2011) - Salisbury/ Wicomico MD

SALISBURY -- A mother who pleaded guilty to child abuse after her
3-year-old son was scalded in the bathtub will be sentenced in Wicomico
County Circuit Court today.
Wynita Evette Dale, 26, is facing up
to 25 years in prison -- the state's maximum penalty on the charge.
Because first-degree child abuse is a crime of violence, she will have
to serve at least half her sentence before she is eligible for parole.
Dale
entered the guilty plea in November, a week and a half after a judge
convicted her mother, Joanne Evette Gale, 45, of child abuse. She
testified against her mother as part of a plea agreement with the state.
Dale,
the mother of four children, testified Gale placed the child in the
high temperature bathwater to discipline him after a potty training
accident.
"Dale, as a parent, had a duty to protect her child,"
said Jamie Dykes, the prosecutor and an assistant state's attorney
assigned to the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center, during court
proceedings.
"Dale is guilty of first-degree child abuse because
she was present when the abuse occurred and failed to stop the abuse or
seek medical treatment."
The state requested a pre-sentencing investigation and a psychological evaluation before Dale is sentenced.
Dale
has been incarcerated in Worcester County since June after her son was
treated at Peninsula Regional Medical Center for second-degree burns on
his legs, fingers and feet.
Initially, she told investigators she
placed her son in the hot bathwater after her mother instructed her to
do so. However, during her mother's bench trial on Nov. 3, Dale took the
stand testifying as a witness for the state and said Gale put the child
in the scalding water.
Dale and Gale were also charged in the
physical abuse of the child's twin brother after investigators found
U-shaped and linear scars on both boys.
The judge acquitted Gale of the charges relating to the second child.
Gale
testified during her trial and denied allegations she placed the child
in the scalding bathwater. According to Gale, she started to turn on
cold water to fill the tub, but quickly stopped the water and called the
child's mother into the bathroom to finish the job.
She told the judge she left the bathroom and her daughter turned on the water to fill the bathtub.
http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120201/NEWS01/202010388/Mother-convicted-child-abuse-sentenced

SALISBURY -- A mother who pleaded guilty to child abuse after her 3-year-old son was scalded in the bathtub was sentenced to 15 years in prison during a Wicomico County Circuit Court hearing Wednesday.

The judge suspended eight years of the sentence for Wynita Evette Dale; however, the 26-year-old mother of four will have to serve half of the remaining seven-year sentence before she is eligible for parole because first-degree child abuse is a crime of violence.

"Dale failed to protect her 3-year-old from significant and repeated physical abuse at the hands of her mother, Joanne Gale," said Jamie Dykes, the prosecutor and a Wicomico County assistant state's attorney. "The victim's injuries are significant and medical treatment was delayed for at least three days. This is a tragic case."

In November, Dale pleaded guilty to child abuse a week and a half after a judge convicted her mother, Joanne Evette Gale, 45, on abuse charges related to the child being scalded.

She testified against her mother as part of a plea agreement with the state.

Dale will get credit for the time she has served in Worcester County since June after her son was treated at Peninsula Regional Medical Center for second-degree burns on his legs, fingers and feet.

When police initiated the investigation, Dale told investigators she placed her son in the hot bathwater after her mother instructed her to do so. However, during her mother's bench trial on Nov. 3, Dale took the stand testifying as a witness for the state and said Gale put the child in the scalding water.

Dale and Gale were also charged in the physical abuse of the child's twin brother after investigators found U-shaped and linear scars on both children.

The judge acquitted Gale of the charges relating to the second child.

During her trial, Gale denied allegations she placed the child in the scalding bathwater. She told the judge she started to turn on cold water to fill the tub, but quickly stopped the water and called the child's mother into the bathroom to finish the job.

A sentencing hearing for Gale is scheduled for mid-February

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20120202/NEWS01/202020355/Mother-sentenced-child-abuse-case