Enumclaw Mom Charged with Child Abuse Pleads Not Guilty, Remains in Jail

The Enumclaw woman accused of assaulting a three-year-old boy in her care, allegedly over potty training issues, plead not guilty in King County Superior Court Thursday during her arraignment.

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Chasity R. Dufour remains in jail on $250,000 bail, according to Dan Donohoe, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecutor's Office.

She was charged with one count of assault of a child in the second degree-domestic violence this month following an investigation by Enumclaw police detectives into injuries that the boy, David, had when he was admitted in May to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma for a seizure.

Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cecilia Gregson wrote in the bail request that the boy "was covered in bruises from head to toe, partially blinded, and will have lasting neurological and physical challenges after suffering repeated assaults."

A physician's report indicated David had suffered from bleeding in the brain as well as numerous bruises on his head, chest and back. Though the boy had no broken bones, an ophthalmologist found two days later that David had retinal bleeding in his eyes, which was an indication of shaken baby syndrome or choking.

Dufour began watching David in late April after he was removed from daycare due to some behavioral problems, the boy's father and Dufour's boyfriend told detectives.

No contact orders for Dufour with any minor children remains in effect, Donohoe said. A case setting pre-trial hearing is set for August 2.