Inset: Amy Fuller (Steuben County Jail). Background: The area where Fuller allegedly punched a young child (Google Maps).
A 44-year-old Indiana woman is accused of repeatedly punching a child in the head in a church parking lot after the victim asked her for water, later telling police the child had been "out of control" and "embarrassing" her.
Amy Fuller, of Warsaw, was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count each of felony domestic battery and felony neglect of a dependent, court records show.
The investigation began when officers with the Warsaw Police Department responded to a call regarding a woman allegedly striking a child in the parking lot of the Hamilton Church of Christ at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Coldwater, Michigan, news radio station WTVB. The church is located in the 4000 block of East Bellefontaine Road, which is about 150 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
When police arrived at the address, witnesses said the woman, later identified as Fuller, had left the scene in a purple car with the victim and another child, the Herald Republican reported.
Police soon intercepted the vehicle traveling on Water Street and conducted a traffic stop. As officers approached, Fuller was on her cellphone telling someone she was being pulled over and describing the child as "out of control and not listening," the affidavit states.
Speaking to police, the victim reportedly said Fuller only struck them one time in the leg. The child, who police said appeared scared, reportedly had a visible hand-shaped welt on their leg.
However, four witnesses from the church allegedly provided statements to police telling a different story.
According to the witnesses, the child had repeatedly asked Fuller for water. Fuller reportedly responded, "I don't f—ing care."
Fuller then dragged the child to the purple car where she allegedly "punched [them] in the back of the head several times," according to the affidavit.
Doctors examined the victim at Cameron Memorial Community Hospital, where they reportedly found "a large lump on the back of the victim's head," court records state.
When Fuller was questioned by police, she reportedly denied striking the child, but did state that the child had been "embarrassing me in front of people."
Fuller was booked into the Steuben County Jail that day. She was released Tuesday after posting bond of $750, records show.
If convicted of both charges, Fuller faces up to 8½ years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.