The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Trenton woman on December 22nd on felony second degree endangering the welfare of a child in ritual/ceremony.
If the charge stating that someone was involved in a ritual or ceremony sounds confusing, that’s because it is. The Grundy County Prosecutor’s office reports the charge should say “Committed an act performed as part of an act or series of acts performed by two or more persons as an established pattern or second offense.”
The prosecutor’s office indicates this is due to the way the language is written in the statute that was changed in January of 2017. The way the charge was initially reported was due to older language in the statute indicating a ritual or ceremony.
Twenty-eight-year-old Thomasa Kristina Swartz posted 10% of the $5,000 cash-only bond, and she is scheduled for the Associate Division of Circuit Court on January 26th.
Court documents accuse Thomasa Swartz and 27-year-old William Kyle Swartz of acting with criminal negligence in a manner that created a substantial risk to the life, body, and health of three children under the age of seven by failing to have sanitary living conditions. Probable cause statements say they allowed trash and debris to pile up in the house, which led to the infestation of mice and mice droppings.
William Swartz turned himself in on December 17th on the second-degree felony of endangering the welfare of a child in ritual/ceremony. He was scheduled for court on December 22nd.
Court documents say Thomasa and William Swartz both pled guilty in Grundy County Circuit Court in June to endangering the welfare of a child—second degree.
