CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — A Clarion woman is facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting a five-year-old child.

According to a criminal complaint, around 10:08 p.m. on March 16, Officer Wright, of the Clarion Borough Police, was dispatched to the Clarion Hospital Emergency Room for a report of an assault. Officer Wright was advised by a nurse that a five-year-old girl had severe bruising on her buttocks. The bruises were black and purple in color.

The complaint states that through an investigation, it was learned that the young girl was dropped off at a Penn Avenue apartment occupied by the babysitter — 25-year-old Susannah M. Sammy, of Clarion — around 7:00 a.m. on March 14, 2017, and she was picked up on March 16, around 4:00 p.m. Sammy allegedly told the child’s mother that she smacked the child’s buttocks on Wednesday, March 15, and there was a small bruise. When the mother observed the bruising, she contacted CYS and then took the child to the Clarion Hospital.

Sammy allegedly stated that she struck the young girl with an open hand because she was lying, would not stop crying, and took too long to wash her hands, according to the complaint.

A preliminary arraignment is scheduled for 10:30 am. on March 30 in front of Magisterial District Judge Duane L. Quinn.

Sammy faces simple assault, a first-degree misdemeanor charge.