A Charles City woman will serve two decades in prison for violently abusing a child.
33-year-old Samantha Slaughter was accused of assaulting the child on February 13th in a home in the 300 block of 8th Avenue of Charles City. Slaughter allegedly forcefully grabbed the child’s face, force fed them food, shook and jerked their face and head, hit them in their face with their own hands, forced them to the floor by grabbing their neck, and slammed them to the floor.
A criminal complaint by Charles City Police said the minor sustained serious injuries to include facial bruising and swelling, retinal hemorrhages, as well as bleeding in the head and brain. Medical staff told CCPD that the child’s long-term prognosis will likely include varying deficits, some of which appear to be permanent.
Slaughter was originally charged with child endangerment by multiple acts, a Class B felony. As part of a plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to child endangerment resulting in serious injury, plus one count of willful injury resulting in serious injury, both Class C felonies.
Monday (06.23) in Floyd County District Court, Judge Rustin Davenport sentenced Slaughter to 10 years in prison on each charge, with the sentences to be served consecutively for a total of 20 years behind bars.
It’s the second child abuse conviction this year for Slaughter, also known as Samantha Jones. In March, she was convicted in Winneshiek County for child endangerment and assault with bodily injury or mental illness after prosecutors said Slaughter assaulted a child under the age of 14 between February and April 2024. She received a suspended prison sentence and placed on two-years probation in Winneshiek County, but following her recent conviction in Floyd that probation is to be revoked during a hearing Tuesday (07.01) in Winneshiek County District Court.
In preparation for that proceeding, Slaughter has been transferred from the Floyd County Jail to the Winneshiek County Jail in Decorah.
