Upper Dublin Mom Admits Abusing Adopted Daughter

UPPER DUBLIN, Pa. (CBS) - A Montgomery County mother is staring at the possibility of jail time after admitting in court that she physically abused her three-year-old adopted daughter.

Theresa McNulty pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, charges that carry a maximum sentence of five to ten years behind bars, although the guidelines are much less.

Montgomery County prosecutor Samantha Cauffman says the 53-year-old Upper Dublin woman burned the child in the bathtub and caused welts, bruises, and cuts on the child’s body.

“Seeing pictures of these images is heartbreaking,” Cauffman told KYW Newsradio today. “It’s something that I as a prosecutor will never forget. It’s something I’ve never seen before and I hope I never see it again.”

Cauffman says McNulty was very good at covering her tracks and making excuses for why her daughter was injured.

The child, who was adopted from Russia nearly four years ago, is now in foster care and according to Cauffman doing remarkably well.