OKC Mother Charged With Abusing Malnourished Child

An Oklahoma City mother of six children now faces criminal charges for abusing one of her children.

Thursday, July 28th 2011, 1:48 pm

By: News 9

OKC Mother Charged With Abusing Malnourished Child

Deanne Stein, News9.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- An Oklahoma City mother of six children now faces criminal charges for abusing one of her children.

District Attorney David Prater filed the charges Thursday against 31-year-old Asusena Marie Gonzales and two others.

Gonzales faces one count of felony child neglect and one count of felony child abuse. Prater also filed charges against Sergio Macias Almeida and Maria Gonzales. They both face one count each of enabling child neglect.

Read the entire list of charges.

The charges stem from an investigation into alleged abuse by Asusena Marie Gonzales. A DHS employee first reported the abuse Gonzales 5-year-old daughter.

According to police, the little girl appeared very malnourished and emaciated. Officers noted her arms and legs were very thin, and they could see the bones at her joints. They also noticed the child had small cuts on her arms, along with dried blood.

A police report also noted that although the little girl appeared to be abused and living in a dirty closet, Gonzales' other five children appeared to be healthy.

The little girl was treated at the hospital. Gonzales' other five children were taken into DHS custody.