(BEDFORD) – A Bedford woman was arrested on a warrant on Sunday on charges of battery resulting in bodily injury on a child under the age of 14.
A Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputy arrested 34-year-old Samantha Olsen at 8:05 p.m.
A warrant was issued for Olsen’s arrest after Bedford Police Detective Kevin Jones received a report from the Department of Child Services on September 12, 2019, alleging a child had been injured during a physical altercation. The child suffered injuries to the right side of his face. There was redness and the child’s face was turning black and blue.
Investigators spoke with several witnesses who told investigators Olsen was playing with the boy and pulled him off a mattress and he hit his face on the bed frame.
Olsen told investigators the family had recently moved into the new residence and was flipping over the bed on September 9, 2019, when the boy hit his head on the bed frame.
Investigators spoke to the boy at his school on September 13, 2019, and he told police he couldn’t remember what had happened and that he had just hit his head.
On September 13, 2019, investigators spoke to the Child Protection Team at Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. The Team determined the child’s injuries were inflicted injuries and recommended a full head to toe evaluation and a forensic interview. The interview was done at a Susie’s Place a child advocacy center.
After telling police several stories on how he got the bruises the child finally said Olsen had smacked him but begged to please stay with Olsen.
On the morning of September 16, 2019, police again spoke to Olsen who told police the mattresses in the room were stacked up against a wall and the boy had climbed up on them and knocked everything over and hit his head and that is who he was injured. She did admit to spanking her children but never smacked them.
Later that morning investigators spoke again to the child at his school and he told them on the day he was slapped he had been playing outside with friends. He told investigators he went inside to get some shoes and when he had come inside Samantha told him that he could not go back outside. He said he and Samantha began to argue and that is what led up to him being slapped.
The information from the incident was sent to the Prosecutor’s Office and a warrant was issued for Olsen’s arrest.
