Published: July 01, 2009 07:44 pm      

Area man pleads guilty in child abuse case

By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — A man accused of beating his child has pleaded guilty to domestic battery and agreed to testify against the child’s mother, who is also charged in connection with the battery.

Scott Peters-mark, 34, of the 1200 block of Jones Street, and Theresa Petersmark, 25, of the 400 block of Castleton Avenue, were arrested in November 2007 and each charged with aggravated battery of a child. A second charge of domestic battery was also filed against Scott Petersmark, who pleaded guilty to domestic battery on Wednesday, and the charge of aggravated battery of a child was dismissed.

Petersmark was sentenced to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and has surrendered his parental rights. As condition of his sentence, Petersmark has agreed to cooperate fully and testify against Teresa Petersmark. Scott Petersmark was to go to trial on July 14, and Teresa Petersmark is facing an Aug. 25 trial date.

According to court documents, the couple is accused of hitting the then 5-month-old child with their “hands and feet, thereby causing numerous broken and fractured bones in the body” of the child.

An investigation into the alleged abuse began in July 2007 after the child was treated at St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital for a broken femur, according to information released at the time of the couple’s arrest by Mt. Vernon Police Chief Chris Mendenall. The baby was taken to a hospital in St. Louis, where doctors reported a skull fracture as well.

“The evidence and injuries reported during the [course of the] investigation were consistent with child abuse,” Mendenall stated at the time of the arrests.

Theresa Petersmark was in court for a pre-trial conference on Tuesday, and another conference has been scheduled for July 8.