Mother Charged with Abuse, Assault of Daughter

Mother Charged with Abuse, Assault of Daughter

Montgomery County (web|news) Police have charged a woman with child abuse and assault after her 12-year-old daughter was found at a fast-food restaurant with bruises on her face and without shoes.

Forty-seven-year-old Hyacinth Beverly Morgan of Silver Spring was charged with first-degree child abuse, first-degree assault and other counts.

According to police, the 12-year-old girl was wandering the street about 1 a.m. Sunday when she flagged down a motorist and asked to be taken to the fast-food restaurant in Wheaton, where officers found her.

The 12-year-old girl told police her mother held her hostage in their Silver Spring house. Charging documents said the girls mother locked her in her bedroom, "disrobed her and tied her to the bed with rope." It then said her mom "beat her with multiple objects" all over her body and "not given food."

"It's a shame that a child of that young age has to experience such trauma early in life from adults you think they would trust," neighbor Chris Clermont said.

Documents said the girl was visibly shaken when she was found, had cuts and bruises on her forehead, backside and private parts. She also had contusions and blood spots in both eyes.

"Kids are kids. How could you? You trust they're being taken care of at home. It really hurts," neighbor Mariam Mutafian said

Court paperwork also said, Morgan claims her daughter "got the two black eyes from her nine-year-old sister after the two fought." As for the other injuries, the mother claims came from her daughter, "purposefully falling off the treadmill while exercising."

"I work with kids, I'm a teacher..being treated so horribly at home really kind of heartbreaking. I don't know what to do with that," Mutafian said.

On Eccelston Street, the family's corner house stands out. The lawn is covered in kids toys, several sheds, swing sets, tree house contraptions and a zip line, all behind a fence. Neighbors said they never saw the sisters outside.

Morgan is being held in the Montgomery County Detention Center on $750,000 bond.