CEDAR RAPIDS â A judge Friday sentenced a Cedar Rapids mother to up to 40 years in prison for committing âhorrendous actsâ upon her 3-year-old son, who was severely and repeatedly beaten with an electrical cord and other means over the course of a year.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Christopher Bruns, in sentencing JâJuanna Williams, 26, said as a parent he cannot imagine another parent doing what she did to her son. In two of the nine counts charged, Williamsâ 5-year-old daughter also suffered child abuse from October 2022 to October 2023.
However, Bruns said, he wasnât in âher shoesâ and hadnât experienced the alleged child abuse she endured as a child, and the mental illness â bipolar disorder and schizophrenia â she suffered. But nothing âjustifies what she did.â The severe physical injuries and possible psychological injuries of the children weighed in favor of a âsignificantâ prison term, he said.
Williams previously pleaded to eight charges of child endangerment. Two of the charges were made as Alford pleas, in which a defendant doesnât admit guilt but concedes the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction.
Bruns ran some of the charges consecutively and others concurrently, in accordance with the plea agreement, for a total of up to 40 years in prison. She has no mandatory minimum to serve before being eligible for parole.
Assistant Linn County Attorney Ryan Decker submitted photos of the severe and permanent injuries to the 3-year-old victim, which showed only a âsmall indication of the abuseâ the child endured.
Bruns said he would allow them, over the defenseâs objection, as a form of a victim impact statement, since the child, now 5, wasnât in court. The judge didnât allow the prosecutor to show the âgraphic and disturbingâ photos in the courtroom.
Decker, in recommending the 40 year sentence, said the 3-year-old had injuries âhead to toe.â He suffered spinal fractures, a brain bleed and will go blind at some point in his life from âtrauma-induced cataracts.â
âI havenât seen a case this horrific,â Decker said.
The child will have a constant reminder of the injuries because he will have permanent scars and ongoing trauma, Decker said.
The sentence will provide âjustice for all parties,â Decker said â Williams will receive needed mental health treatment and both children will have the chance to be in âcaring and lovingâ homes one day.
Williams, who started crying during the hearing, apologized to her children and said there was âno excuse for my behavior.â She hoped they could forgive her because she canât forgive herself.
âMedical definition of tortureâ
According to a criminal complaint, Cedar Rapids police responded to a child not breathing or being unconscious after he was found in water on Oct. 22, 2023. The 3-year-old was on a hotel bed, naked and unresponsive, when officers arrived.
The toddler had multiple facial and chest injuries and eventually was taken to University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City for treatment due to the severity and number of injuries â found to be consistent with repeated child abuse, the complaint stated.
The 3-year-old initially was placed in a coma for emergency care. And after medical evaluation, doctors said the child had several âclassic patternâ or âloop injuries highly specific for inflicted child abuse as a result of being whipped or struck with a cord-like object.â
According to the complaint, investigators found multiple cords in the hotel room and suspected blood on a cord used for a portable fryer. There was also blood spatter on the wall in the main sleeping area and bathroom.
The loop injuries were inflicted within hours to days before police were called, according to the medical evaluations. The 3-year-old had multiple scars from past incidents of abuse, the complaint stated.
A UI medical child abuse expert told investigators the recent injuries were likely to cause serious permanent disfigurement, according to the complaint. The toddler had two large hematomas to his forehead, one on each side, and had acute lacerations to his upper and lower lip. The lower lip cut penetrated into muscle tissue that required âbedside surgical repair.â
He also suffered brain bleeding and had other injuries consistent with blunt-force trauma. The 3-year-old also had two spinal fractures âpotentially consistent with being slammed or with whiplash.â
The expert told investigators he thought the toddlerâs multiple injuries fit the âmedical definition of torture.â
Williams didnât offer any explanation for the multiple injuries and claimed she found the toddler in the bathroom unconscious, and took him into the shower to try to wake him up, the complaint stated.
The child also had medical signs of an attempted drowning event, including his âinitial clinical presentation of being unresponsive and evidence of fluid in his lungs after undergoing radiological exams,â according to the complaint.
Bruns also ordered a pair of five year no-contact orders against Williams to protect the children.
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