A husband and wife from Lawson have both pleaded not guilty in Ray County to 26 counts each of child abuse or neglect.
Joseph Gorham and Tiffany Gorham have each been charged with 26 counts of abuse or neglect of a child. They both face six Felony B counts, meaning the alleged abuse caused serious emotional or physical injury, and 20 Felony D counts.
Online court information shows 28-year-old Tiffany Michelle Gorham and her husband 30-year-old Joseph Micah Gorham have each been charged with 26 felony counts of abuse or neglect of a child—serious emotional or physical injury—no sexual contact.
Court information shows Tiffany Gorham pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Tuesday, while Joseph Gorham pleaded not guilty during a hearing May 22. The bond for each is $100,000 cash only with special conditions with Tiffany Gorham’s case continued to June 5 and Joseph Gorham’s case was continued to June 12th.
A probable cause statement reports the couple’s eight-year-old daughter was the victim of physical and psychological abuse on multiple occasions. The 8-year-old told her grandparents, who took photos of her injuries from that alleged abuse and another incident in March 2018 and later showed them to the staff at Children’s Mercy Hospital.
The girl said she had missed a lot of school because her parents wanted to keep her bruises hidden. In interviews with officials, the little girl’s brother, aunt, and grandparents all confirmed incidents of alleged abuse.
