A child reported to the police that a woman, identified as Courtney Crites, used physical force on him, including hitting him with a paddle referred to as the “attitude adjuster” and kicking him in the private area. Crites, 32, was taken into custody in West Virginia after one of the children in her care alleged that she caused bruises on his back, shoulder, and chest. The incident was reported to the authorities on January 1. The child also mentioned that Crites subjected him to other forms of harm, such as leaving him outside in the cold and verbally abusing him. Following an investigation involving interviews with five children residing in the same household, Crites was arrested and charged with three felony counts of child abuse.
According to police reports obtained by Law & Crime, the boy claimed that Crites used the paddle on him as a form of punishment for not organizing his clothes correctly. He further stated that she pushed him outside in freezing temperatures before letting him back in and hitting him with the paddle until it broke. The child described the paddle as a two-by-four-inch wooden object, approximately two feet in length. The boy expressed fear when the paddle broke during the incident.
The child disclosed that the injuries from the physical abuse left bruises on his shoulder, chest, and back, lasting for several months. Additionally, he recounted that Crites would kick him when she was angry. The exact relationship between Crites and the child was not disclosed by the police. Currently, Crites is being held at Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $100,000 bond.
In a separate case, a mother was found guilty of killing her seven-year-old son, Nathaniel Burton, despite the child’s warnings to his grandmothers and social services about the potential threat posed by his mother. The tragic incident occurred in February 2021 when Sarah Safranek allegedly suffocated Nathaniel in their home. After initially pleading guilty in March 2024 and later withdrawing the plea, Safranek admitted to the crime in November 2025 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
