Inset: Penny Badgett (Pettis County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area outside the Pettis County Jail where Missouri woman Penny Badgett was booked on child abuse and endangerment charges (Google Maps).
A Missouri woman is accused of "kicking" a 7-year-old boy who does not know how to swim into the deep end of a hotel pool because she thought he was being "mean to another child," according to court documents.
Penny Badgett, who was born in 1963, is charged with child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the Saturday incident. A probable cause affidavit says Badgett was at an indoor hotel pool in Sedalia when she "kicked" the victim into an area of the pool that was 5 1/2 feet deep.
"[The boy] does not know how to swim," the affidavit says. "After being confronted by [the boy's] aunt after the incident, Badgett stated that [the boy] was mean to another child."
Police say Badgett had no prior interactions with the child. The boy "expressed he was scared" after being launched into the pool, the affidavit alleges.
"After reviewing camera footage, there is clear video of Badgett standing behind [the boy], waited for him to sit down, and then used her raised foot to push him into the pool," the affidavit says. "By using camera footage and the electronic door lock registry from the pool room, [a police officer] was able to locate what room Badgett was staying in."
Badgett was asked about the incident and she refused to answer any questions without a lawyer present. The arresting officer who was dispatched to the hotel says that after telling her she was under arrest and that there was footage of what allegedly happened, she confessed.
"After informing her that she was under arrest and telling her that I had video of her kicking someone into a pool, she stated 'I know what this is about, I pushed him,'" according to the affidavit.
Badgett was booked into the Pettis County Jail on a 24-hour hold and later released. Her bond was set at $15,000.
Comments