Inset: Aleesha Ann Allen (Shasta County Jail). Background: The area in Shasta County where Allen allegedly beat her infant son (KRCR).
A 22-year-old mother in California was arrested over the weekend for allegedly beating her 11-month-old baby, whose injuries were so severe that a witness said they could see the imprint of a fist on the infant’s bruised face.
Aleesha Ann Allen was taken into custody on Sunday and charged with one count of felony “child abuse with possible great bodily injury/death,” authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, deputies at about 11:16 a.m. on Sunday, March 2, responded to a call requesting a welfare check on an infant who was at a residence in the 1200 block of Hardenbrook Avenue. The home is about 175 miles north of Sacramento.
Upon arriving at the address, first responders said they made contact with Allen and positively identified her as the infant’s mother. Allen was in the process of putting the child into a car when deputies first reached the home.
“Deputies observed the juvenile and noticed facial injuries that appeared to be deliberately inflicted and consistent with child abuse,” the release states. “Deputies interviewed Allen and other witnesses at the scene. Allen was subsequently arrested and booked into the Shasta County Jail.”
Authorities said the victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment and “evaluation of their injuries.”
The sheriff’s office contacted the Shasta County Children and Family Services, which took custody of the child before releasing him into the care of other family members.
Authorities provided additional details about the incident to Redding, California, ABC affiliate KRCR.
According to the station’s report, one of Allen’s friends made the initial 911 call requesting a welfare check immediately after receiving a FaceTime call from Allen. The friend reportedly said that Allen was crying during the call and showed the friend her baby’s face, which was visibly bruised.
The friend was identified as Isaiah Polk, who told KRCR that he felt compelled to call authorities himself because Allen refused to do so.
It made me almost want to shed a tear,” Polk told the station. “It was like — the way his face looked, he didn’t fall off of a bed.”
Polk then held his fist up to his face, just below his right eye and added, “Like, there was a fist imprint.”
Online records show that Allen is currently being held in the Shasta County Jail without bond.
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