Mother accused of slamming son’s head on floor, fracturing his skull

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - A mother accused of fracturing her 1-year-old son’s skull is being held at the Hamilton County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.

Even though Aminata Cherif was unable to appear in court due to an illness Wednesday, her arraignment went forth.

Cherif hit her son’s head multiple times against an unknown surface, which caused skull fractures and other head injuries, according to court documents.

The 1-year-old’s father is the one who stopped Cherif from further injuring their son, documents claim. The father is also the one who called 911.

“My son is two, one year old. She [Cherif] hit him on the floor, so hard,” the man is heard saying on the 911 call.

At this point, is it unclear where the child is, but his father has requested for him to be released back into his custody, documents show.

A Hamilton County child abuse and neglect expert says cases like this are on the rise.

“Here in Hamilton County, I know cases that Prokids have seen seem to have a little bit more egregious abuse and egregious neglect than they have had in the past,” explained Child Abuse and Neglect Advocate Kathy King.

While King cannot speak to the Cherif case, she says in general the pandemic, isolation, domestic abuse, and other factors have led to more children being abused and neglected.

“In Hamilton County, I think we see around 70 [kids] have had domestic violence in them or in the past that is identified when they come in,” King stated.

She added stress and substance abuse are leading cases of neglect and abuse.

She says when a child is abused, it oftentimes leads to lifelong consequences even if the abuse or neglect happened when they were too young to remember.

The good news in these cases is that if a child has been harmed, there is help.

“The most important thing for the people at home to know is that if you can provide a safe nurturing environment you can help that child heal,” King said.

King explained it is important for child abuse and neglect to be reported and it doesn’t always end in children being taken from the home - it’s by case.

To report child abuse, call 513-241-KIDS.

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