Follansbee woman pleads guilty to child abuse | News, Sports, Work

WELLSBURG. A Follansbee woman has pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse resulting in bodily injury in a case that also resulted in charges against her husband.

Brittany Fluharty, 31, of Follansbee, pleaded guilty Thursday and is scheduled to be sentenced to supervised release in a plea deal negotiated by her attorney, Thomas Kroeger; and Brooke County Assistant District Attorney Allison Cowden.

The term of supervised release is to be set by 1st Judicial District Court Judge Ronald Wilson at a Dec. 5 hearing.

Under state law, Fluharty faced one to five years in prison or up to one year in prison for each charge.

Cowden told the court that Fluharty punched a child in her care in the face and ear, causing bruises that were discovered by a Brooke County school resource officer.

West Virginia State Police and the Brooke County Sheriff’s Department were also involved in the investigation, she said.

Cowden said the child, who is no longer in Fluharty’s care, was abused by a previous caregiver and suffered from serious psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, as a result.

Fluharty’s husband, Jacob Fluharty, 35, recently pleaded guilty to child neglect resulting in bodily injury.

Cowden said Jacob was unable to stop Brittany from physically abusing the child by hitting the child multiple times, causing the child to bleed from the mouth several times.

Jacob was sentenced to six months in prison and two years of supervised probation and ordered to register with the state registry of persons convicted of child abuse or neglect.

Under state law, child abuse resulting in injury is punishable by one to three years in prison and a $100 to $1,000 fine or up to 5 years in prison.

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