Hollsopple mother charged with neglect

By MICHELLE GANASSI, Daily American Staff Writer

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Police were notified when a 5-year-old boy, weighing 25 pounds, was taken to a local hospital last week.

Now, the boy's adoptive mother is facing neglect charges as the boy recovers at a hospital.

Paint Township police said the 5-year-old adopted son of Christy Mae Pensinger, 57, Whistler Street, Hollsopple, weighed 25 pounds and had a distended abdomen.

Police found out about the underweight child on Feb. 19 when he was being treated at a local hospital.

“We realized it wasn't normal for a child of that age to weigh that much,” Paint Township police Chief Rick Skiles said.

Pensinger told Children and Youth Services that the child had only been to the doctor two times since August 2007, police said. The child was taken to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Feb. 20, where he remains receiving treatment.

Greg Chiappelli, corporate communications director for Somerset Hospital, said according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the ideal weight for a 5-year-old male is 35 pounds. He is not familiar with the case, but explained that a distended abdomen means the belly area is bigger than usual, and could be a result of many things.

Police learned that Pensinger said she was going to flee the area, according to a criminal complaint.

Pensinger was arrested Wednesday evening and arraigned on one count of endangering the welfare of children. She was placed on an unsecured $75,000 bond with a condition that she has no contact with the boy, who is now in the state's custody.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday before District Judge Susan Mankamyer in Boswell. Pensinger could not be reached for comment as she does not have a listed telephone number.