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Last updated 1:29 am CT September 06, 2010.
Children Testify Against Man Accused in Their Beating
Tyrone Jackson is charged with aggravated battery to a child and domestic battery for an incident in October of 2007. The childrens' mother, Madlon Ladd, also faces charges for her involvement in the alleged beating.
Jackson earlier filed a motion in which he requested to represent himself during the jury trial. The judge granted the motion but requested his court appointed attorney remain a part of the trial as stand-by counsel. Jackson, acting in his own defense, was instructed through the proceedings by his counsel. The circumstances made for a lengthy day in court.
While tedious, it was also a very emotional day. The victims, three children, each under the age of 12, took the stand. The middle child, now 8-years-old, broke down on the stand when Jefferson County State's Attorney, Jeff Bradley, asked him to describe the day his sister was beaten. During the little boy's testimony he explained to the court why he and his siblings had received the beating: they had eaten a bag of potato chips without permission.
The children explained, as best they could, what took place that October day. The two youngest children, then 5 and 6-years-old, said they were physically punished, but not severely. But, the eldest child, then 9 years-old, was allegedly beaten with a belt and extension cord. According to her police statement, after the beating she was put into a closet until it was dark. During the incident, her police report read, that Jackson ordered Ladd to pour alcohol on the child's open wounds. Her statement alleged Jackson held her down- while her mother brutally beat her. She told the court, "I got beat real bad." A worker with the Division of Children and Family Services testified that the child's wounds were so severe, her clothing painfully stuck to them.
Expert testimony was also given by the Good Samaritan hospital ER doctor who treated the 9-year-old girl nearly 2 weeks after the beating took place. He described her injuries as very severe. He explained that it appeared as though a rope, extension cord or belt had made the looped bruises on the child's backside. He told the court the girl's injuries spanned her entire back- from her shoulder blades to just above her knees. During the doctor's testimony, he said, it was one of the worst cases of systematic child abuse he had ever seen.
The childrens' mother, Ladd, also faces charges in connection with the beating. During a federal drug case, Ladd struck a deal with the state. She agreed to tell the truth and testify against Jackson in return for a combined, but reduced, sentence.
As for the children, they are currently enrolled in school and staying with their grandmother.
By: Rachel Gartner
rgartner@wsiltv.com
Now: 1283759481
