Amie L. Messer, a mother from Monroe, Michigan, has been sentenced to jail after being convicted of Second Degree Child Abuse for allowing her boyfriend, Mark Osborn, to repeatedly abuse her young son. The boy, who was 5 years old at the time, sustained repeated, severe beatings that lacerated his intestines, broke his collarbone, and was often denied food.

Messer says she had no idea what was happening to her son

“I’m very sorry about what happened to my son,” Messer told the court. “If I knew what was happening, I would have stopped it.” But the judge didn’t believe she was ignorant of the abuse her child suffered, given the CPS records that documented Osborn’s abuse of the boy, and Messer’s refusal to end the relationship with him.

CPS, however, says she knew all along what was happening…

Court documents from CPS agents who investigated the case claim that Messer intentionally refused to protect her son. “Rather than ending the relationship and asking Mr. Osborn to move out, she continued to allow unsupervised access to her children even while the boy lay with life-threatening injuries in the hospital. (Messer) did not live up to her parenting responsibilities.”

The judge also blamed Messer for choosing unwisely!

In addressing Messer during her sentencing hearing, Judge Daniel S. White addressed Messer, and said that he believed she knew what was happening and chose to ignore it in the name of maintaining her relationship. “I think what’s obvious to me is you failed to protect your son,” the Judge said. “You chose Mark Osborn over your son.”

Messer’s son is in foster care, living with his grandmother.

Messer’s son was taken from her when she was charged with child abuse, and placed in the care of his grandmother as a foster child. She later had her parental rights to the boy terminated by Monroe County Probate Judge Cheryl E. Lohmeyer. According to court records,Messer also lost her rights to the 14-year-old daughter she had with Army Sgt. Christopher Messer, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.

CPS can be fierce when they believe a parent isn’t protecting their kids

If a CPS worker believes a parent isn’t protecting their child from an abusive spouse or partner, they are quick to remove that child, and even quicker to push for a termination of parental rights. So be aware that even if you aren’t doing anything to hurt your child, failing to protect them from your partner or spouse is viewed as being equally bad! So make your relationship choices wisely!

Being accused of child abuse is no joke in Michigan!

Being charged with child abuse or child neglect in Michigan is a very serious crime! And as you can see from the case we talked about in this article, you don’t even have to have done anything harmful to a child yourself in order to be charged with this crime. But the penalties are severe, and the risk of losing your children is high! So if you or a loved one have been accused of child abuse, call The Kronzek Firm at 866 766 5245 today, and talk to one of our skilled child abuse and neglect defense attorneys today! We are here to help you.