MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– A man and a woman in Madison County are behind bars, accused of hitting an 11-year-old child and dragging him through their home.
Richmond Police say that after escaping out of a window, an 11-year-old flagged down a driver near the Smith Village Apartments Wednesday.
According to the arrest citation, he was covered in numerous marks and bruises and claimed he was just beaten.
Detectives soon arrested Joe Woldeselassie and his fiance Ericka Perkins.
Police tell LEX 18 that the boy tried to escape earlier, but Woldeselassie tackled him and dragged him back into the home. From there, officers said Woldeselassie struck him several times with a belt and dragged him more before the couple locked him in a room.
From jail, Perkins said that she was watching the boy, who is a foster child, for her mother, and only had him for ten minutes.
“I don’t put my hands on my own kids, so I don’t put my hands on someone else’s kids,” she said.
LEX 18 asked Perkins about the child’s claims and the bruises that detectives found on the child.
“They either happened before or after. The bruises that are on him, I’ve not seen them. So, I’m not sure what they’re even talking about,” she said.
