MINERSVILLE - A man and woman were jailed Tuesday and charged with assaulting a child at a home in the borough between 9 and 10 p.m. Aug. 8.
Minersville police said John D. Heffner, 25, of 1095 Willow Drive, Orwigsburg, and Rachel A. Schaeffer, 31, of 346 New Castle St., Minersville, were arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Christina E. Hale, Frackville, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison, unable to post $50,000 straight cash bail each.
Police said the incident came to light Aug. 13 when Schuylkill County Children & Youth Services contacted them saying Heffner assaulted an 11-year-old boy at Schaeffer's home.
Allegedly, the child was sitting watching television when his mother, Schaeffer, and her boyfriend, Heffner, began making fun of him.
The two then went upstairs and police said the child, who was upset, poured dog shampoo on the carpet.
Heffner became enraged and told the child, "You better go and run and hide because when I get you, I'm going to beat you," police said.
The child ran into his bedroom and locked the door behind him.
Heffner, police said, told Schaeffer to go and get a wooden stick, a towel rod, and gave it to the man who broke the child's bedroom door with his shoulder, grabbed the boy by the arm, threw him onto the bed and began beating him on the buttocks with the rod.
After being hit numerous times, police said the boy was told to go downstairs and clean up the shampoo and while he was doing so, Heffner struck the child on the head with the wooden rod.
Heffner then made the boy stand against a wall and struck him several more times. Schaeffer was present during the beatings and also struck the child in the side of the leg with the wooden rod, police said.
After being hit again, police said, the boy finished cleaning the shampoo, took his dog and retreated to his bedroom.
Heffner then went into the bedroom and told the boy he better start listening and struck him once on his back and once on his side with a plastic coat hanger, police said.
As a result of being hit, police said the boy suffered deep and severe bruising on his entire buttocks, causing pain that lasted for several days and made it difficult to sit.
A young girl in the house told Children & Youth workers that on the same night, she was sleeping and got up to go to the bathroom when her mother, Schaeffer, came out of her room, pulled her by the hair and hit her with a wooden paddle.
On Aug. 13, police said they took emergency custody of the two children along with another child and turned all three over to Children and Youth Services who placed all three with their biological fathers.
Police said that both Heffner and Schaeffer surrendered to authorities on Tuesday and were arraigned and jailed. Preliminary hearings will now be held before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon.
Police charged Heffner with two felony counts of aggravated assault, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and one misdemeanor count each of terroristic threats, endangering the welfare of children and recklessly endangering another person.
Schaeffer was charged with one felony count of aggravated assault, five misdemeanor counts of simple assault and two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of children.
