A child reported to the police that a woman used a paddle referred to as the “attitude adjuster” to hit him and also kicked him in a sensitive area. Courtney Crites, aged 32, was taken into custody after one of five children alleged that she caused bruises on his back, shoulder, and chest. The incident was reported as a potential case of child abuse on January 1 in West Virginia, USA. The police did not disclose the identity of the person who contacted them. The child claimed that Crites subjected him to various forms of harm, such as leaving him outside in cold weather, kicking, hitting, and yelling at him.
The authorities interviewed all five children at the residence where the mother lived with her partner. The interviews were conducted by a child advocacy center, recorded, and shared with law enforcement officers. Subsequently, Crites was arrested on Friday and charged with three counts of felony child abuse. Police records, as reported by Law & Crime, stated that the boy recounted incidents where Crites kicked, hit, and yelled at him. The child alleged that Crites used a wooden paddle named “the attitude adjuster” to discipline him when he did not properly put away his clothes.
Additionally, the child claimed that Crites once pushed him outside in the cold, allowed him back in, and then struck him with the paddle until it broke. The boy described the paddle as being two inches by four inches and approximately two feet in length. He expressed being terrified when Crites broke the paddle while hitting him. The injuries sustained by the child, including bruises on his shoulder, chest, and back, reportedly lasted for several months. The boy also mentioned that Crites would kick him when she was angry.
Authorities did not disclose the exact relationship between Crites and the boy. She is currently in custody at Tygart Valley Regional Jail in West Virginia, with a bail set at $100,000. In a separate incident, a mother pleaded guilty to killing her seven-year-old son after he had voiced concerns to his grandmothers about his safety. Despite the boy’s warnings and interactions with social services, the attempts to harm him by the mother were overlooked. The child tragically passed away on February 18, 2021, with prosecutors alleging that he was suffocated by his mother the day before. The mother initially pleaded guilty in March 2024 but later retracted the plea. She pleaded guilty again in November 2025 and received a 35-year prison sentence.