Venango County Residents Accused of Hitting Child with Board, Leaving Bruises

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published July 19, 2019 4:21 am
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SUGARCREEK BOROUGH, Pa. (EYT) — Two Venango County residents are facing charges following an investigation into a child abuse report.

According to court documents, the Sugarcreek Borough Police Department filed criminal charges against 33-year-old Samantha Marie Fonzo and 38-year-old James William Koch, both of Franklin.

According to a criminal complaint, Lieutenant Baker, of the Sugarcreek Borough Police Department, initially received an allegation of child abuse at a residence on Meadville Pike in Franklin from Venango County Children and Youth Services (CYS) and then met two CYS caseworkers at the residence.

Lieutenant Baker and the caseworkers spoke with Samantha Fonzo at the residence and also took photos of the buttocks of a seven-year-old child that showed a bruising across both buttocks that appeared to match with the 12″x2.5″x.75″ board that Fonzo stated was used as a paddle, according to the complaint.

Forensic interviews were then done with the children living in the residence.

The complaint states the children indicated they would be beaten with the board by both Fonzo and James Koch for “being bad.”

According to the complaint, when asked, Fonzo stated that Koch also used the board on the children. Lieutenant Baker then spoke to Koch, as well, who admitted to hitting the seven-year-old on the buttocks with the board.

When asked if he ever noticed the bruising, he stated that he didn’t give the children their baths, so he would not know if they got bruised or not, the complaint states.

The photos of the bruising and a photo of the board were sent to Pittsburgh Child Advocacy Center for assessment, and it was determined it was outside the realm of reasonable, normal discipline and constituted child abuse, the complaint indicates.

Fronzo and Koch were both arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Patrick E. Lowrey on Wednesday, July 17, on the following charges:

– Endangering Welfare of Children — Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense, Felony 3
– Simple Assault, Misdemeanor 1

Both remain free on $2,500.00 unsecured bail.

They are scheduled to stand for preliminary hearings on Wednesday, July 31, at 1:30 p.m.

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