Social worker, friend accused of child abuse appear in court
A social worker is accused of abusing her special-needs children with the help of a friend.
The mother, Sharra Blakemore, and her friend, Jacqueline Lewis, were in court Monday for a pretrial conference.
Judge Jennifer Bryant Wilcox ruled that Lewis, 51, can have no contact with any children.
It will be up to a family court judge to decide if Blakemore, 41, can have contact with her children.
The women face child abuse charges.
“This is just the encapsulated version of details they wrote down. There's a lot more to this case,” Blakemore’s attorney, Felicia Nu’man, said.
Detectives said that on June 18, Blakemore drove her 10-and 12-year-old special-needs children to Lewis' home on North 36th Street and asked Lewis to hit the children 10 times with a belt.
According to court records, the 12-year-old has cerebral palsy.
“She was a social worker. She adopted these children, and they have special needs, and she took on this great responsibility of adopting kids that are older and have special needs, and it is a difficult task and I think that is something important to take into account. These aren't little children, (they) aren't toddlers, these are teenagers," Nu’man said.
Detectives said a teacher at a day camp called Child Protective Services after noticing that the children had bruises from their hips to their knees.
Blakemore's attorney maintained her client's innocence. She described her client as a good mother and said there's more to the story. Lewis' attorney said the same.
“There are extenuating circumstances in this case. I do not believe that once the evidence comes out that Jacqueline Lewis will be found guilty by a jury,” defense attorney Jessica Green said.
The trial for Blakemore and Lewis is set for November.