Mom ordered to stay away from daughter

By: Carl Hessler, Jr.

NORRISTOWN — A judge has prohibited an Upper Dublin woman from having contact with her adopted 4-year-old daughter while the woman awaits court action on charges she allegedly physically abused the girl.

Theresa M. McNulty, 51, of Loch Alsh Avenue, who up until Friday could have supervised visits with the child, was ordered to have no contact with the child as a condition of her bail, according to the order signed by Judge Paul W. Tressler.

During a hearing in county court on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman asked for the change in McNulty’s bail conditions to protect the child while defense lawyer William E. Moore fought the prohibition, implying McNulty poses no danger to the child.

“The concern is the child’s safety and that’s not just physical safety, it’s mental safety as well,” Cauffman argued. “This child needs to finally feel safe.”

Authorities also implied they were concerned that McNulty, during visits, could influence the child to not talk to investigators about the alleged crimes.

The child, according to testimony, is currently in foster care while McNulty awaits a preliminary hearing before District Judge Patricia Zaffarano on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in connection with alleged incidents that occurred between 2008 and 2009.

The child, who was adopted by McNulty from Russia in 2007 when she was 18 months old, allegedly suffered bruises, welts, cuts and even burns to her face and upper body from scalding hot bath water, according to a criminal complaint.

According to court papers, McNulty took the child, then 3, to Chestnut Hill Hospital on Feb. 23, 2009, to be treated for burns to her face and body, that McNulty said occurred during the child’s bath on Feb. 21.

McNulty, implying the burns were accidental, allegedly claimed that the child “scooted to the front of the bathtub to rinse out her hair under scalding hot bath water,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Upper Dublin Detective Mike Scarpato.

“The defendant waited over 24 hours to seek medical attention,” Cauffman alleged, implying the child’s pain and scarring could have been avoided had medical treatment been sought immediately.

At the time, hospital officials noticed other bruises on the girl’s body, court papers alleged. McNulty allegedly claimed the girl fell down the stairs in their home on Feb. 18.

The child was transferred to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia for further evaluation.

Doctors there informed police that the delay in medical treatment for the burns produced a risk of infection.

Upon further investigation, authorities determined that since the child was adopted, others, such as relatives and day care employees, recalled observing bruises and welts on the child.

If she’s convicted of all the charges at a trial, McNulty faces a possible maximum sentence of seven to 14 years in prison.