Police: Woman, Daughter Attacked 12-Year-Old In Salem Shelter

SALEM, MA -- A 42-year-old woman and her 16-year-old daughter were arrested and charged with attacking a 12-year-old girl in an emergency shelter in Salem Monday night. Yolanda Wilder, 42, and her daughter, whose name was not released, were staying in an apartment at 35 Palmer Street that was leased for temporary housing by the Massachusetts Association for Community Action. The victim was staying in another room with her own mother in the apartment.

According to the Salem News which first reported this story, police were called to the apartment three times on Monday. The victim, who was visibly upset and crying and had a cut under her eye, had been pulled from her room by Wilder and her daughter while her mother was outside smoking a cigarette. Wilder pleaded not guilty to one count of assault and battery on a child causing injury in Salem District Court Tuesday; her daughter was scheduled to be arraigned in juvenile court on Tuesday.

For more on this story, see the Salem News. Subscribe to Salem Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

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