Woman charged with allegedly beating child in church parking lot

HAMILTON — A Warsaw woman stands accused of punching a child, repeatedly with closed fists in Steuben County, because they were “embarrassing me in front of people.”

Amy Fuller, 44, of the 8 block of V58 Lane, Warsaw, was arrested Saturday in the 4200 block of East Bellefontaine Road where she was initially charged with Level 6 felonies for domestic battery and neglect of a dependent child. The battery charge was later elevated to Level 5 by the Steuben County Prosecutor’s Office, according to Indiana’s MyCase court database online.

The probable cause affidavit filed in Steuben Superior Court states that at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, local police responded to an active battery involving a child inside a purple car at the Hamilton Church of Christ parking lot, 4045 East Bellefontaine Road.

The vehicle left before police arrived, but they intercepted while it was speeding along Water Street. Fuller was on her cell phone telling someone she was getting pulled over and that her alleged victim was “out of control and not listening” as police approached her window, according to court documents.

The victim appeared scared and told officers they were only hit once, on the leg, where police found a white welt in the shape of a human hand. Another child in the car said the action was justified “Because [the victim] just don’t listen,” court records said.

Back in the church parking lot, four witnesses signed statements reporting the child had asked for water several times but Fuller responded “I don’t f****** care.” Then she dragged the child out to her car and “punched (the child) in the back of the head several times” before speeding off.

During medical evaluation at Cameron Memorial Community Hospital, a physician noted “a large lump on the back of the victim’s head,” according to court documents.

When Fuller spoke to police, she reportedly said that she never spanked but the victim was “embarrassing me in front of people.” Officers also noted her behavior was odd, acting entirely too happy as she was taken to the Steuben County Jail, court records said.

If convicted on both counts, Fuller faces a maximum eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence with a possible fine of up to $10,000.