Hollsopple woman withdraws guilty plea

By JUDY D.J. ELLICH

A Hollsopple woman withdrew her guilty plea Thursday on charges she deprived her 5-year-old adopted son of food and pushed him down a set of stairs.

President Judge John M. Cascio also granted Christy Mae Pensinger’s request to undergo a competency exam.

Pensinger, 58 of Whistler Street, originally was charged with endangering the welfare of children. She was arraigned on that charge Feb. 25.

Paint Township police became involved in the case when notified Feb. 19 that an underweight 5-year-old boy was taken to a local hospital. He weighed 25 pounds and had a distended abdomen.

Pensinger told Children and Youth Services that the child had only been to the doctor two times since August 2007, police said in an affidavit. The child was admitted to Windber Medical Center before being taken to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Feb. 20. He was taken into the state’s custody.

At a March 6 preliminary hearing before Boswell District Judge Susan Mankamyer, District Attorney Jerry Spangler amended the charges to include aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, simple assault, reckless endangerment and harassment. The new charges developed from additional investigation into the matter and “seemed appropriate,” Spangler said at the hearing.

On Sept. 22, Pensinger pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in exchange for Spangler making a motion to have the remaining charges dismissed. Cascio agreed with the plea arrangement.

She was scheduled to be sentenced on those charges on Thursday.

On Nov. 24, Ken Johnson, her public defender, presented motions to withdraw the guilty plea and to provide for a competency exam.

“There is Children and Youth (Services) involvement in this case,” Johnson told Cascio. “We want to ensure the court that there is full supervision of her until this matter is resolved.”

Cascio then agreed to Johnson’s request. Pensinger is free on nonmonetary bail.