Columbus, Ohio (WCMH) A Delaware County woman who pled guilty to various charges of child abuse while running an in-home childcare center will serve more than four decades in jail.
According to court records, Rhonda Coomes, 55, was sentenced to 42 years in prison – the maximum punishment – after pleading guilty to 14 counts of harming children, including a 10-month-old infant, while running her own daycare center from her Randor home.
The punishment comprised three years in prison for each crime, with three counts of kidnapping dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
According to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation into Coomes began when anonymous accusations were filed about probable child abuse between January 2021 and September 2023. Coomes was caught and charged in January 2024.
According to video evidence, Coomes wounded a 10-month-old daughter by slapping her in the face multiple times with her palm and six times with a “hard plastic diaper wipe container.” According to court papers, the youngster received a black eye.
On January 26, Coomes was arrested and charged with one count of kidnapping. At the time, the sheriff’s office stated the accusation was a “placeholder” and that she would most certainly “be charged with felonies related to her physical abuse of more than a half-dozen different kids.”
Coomes received additional accusations and was accused of assaulting a kid after putting them onto their backs in a playpen. The same day, Coomes abused a 3-year-old for not eating quickly enough, according to the sheriff’s office.
Coomes was indicted in April on 17 counts and given a $500,000 bond. Coomes pleaded not guilty by grounds of insanity in May. A competence hearing was planned in August 2024, and a judge deemed her capable, thus Coomes’ counsel dropped the insanity plea.
In December, she pleaded guilty to 14 counts of child endangerment, each involving a different child.
If you suspect child abuse in someone you know, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422- 4453 or our local Department of Job and Family Services at 740-833-2300.
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