FARMINGTON — Two women accused  in August 2014 of  hurting children were indicted Friday by a Franklin County grand jury.

Jessica LaPlante, 40, of Eustis was indicted on a felony charge of assault.

She is accused of burning her 4-year-old daughter on the legs with an electric wood-burning engraving tool because she was “being bad,” Franklin County Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. previously said.

The Sheriff’s Office received a referral from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services regarding a child-abuse complaint on Aug. 26.

The father of the girl, who is from Rangeley and is divorced from the child’s mother, brought his daughter to the family doctor with what looked like burns on her legs. The child told her father that her mother had burned her because she was “being bad,” Nichols had said.

The family physician verified the wounds were consistent with burn marks, he said.

Advertisement

In a second case, Megan White, 23, of Farmington was indicted on a felony assault and a misdemeanor charge of violation of conditions of release.

White is accused of assaulting a 5-year-old boy while she was baby-sitting him on Aug. 27, Farmington police secretary Rachel Heseltine said last year.

Police conducted an investigation after police received a referral from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

The boy was grabbed by his legs and pulled off the bed, which caused bruising on his face. He was then slapped, Heseltine had said.

The violation of condition of release is related to an unrelated domestic violence-assault incident.

dperry@sunjournal.com


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.