Trotwood woman pleads not guilty to assaulting children with hammer, knife

UPDATE @ 3:24 p.m. (Oct. 16):

A Trotwood woman accused of beating two children with household items pleaded not guilty to charges Tuesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

Josie Coleman’s bond was set at $25,000.

If she makes bond, Coleman will have an ankle monitoring device.

The 40-year-old is facing endangering children (torture), felonious assault and child endangering charges.

INITIAL REPORT:

A Trotwood mother and nurse’s aide is in jail, accused of beating two children with items from around their home, including a hammer, knife and extension cord.

Josie Janelle Coleman, 40, was indicted Thursday on two counts of endangering children (torture), two counts of felonious assault and a misdemeanor child endangering charge, according to a Montgomery County grand jury report.

The charges stem from incidents reported to have happened between June 1 and Oct. 1 involving a 19-year-old woman with special needs and an 11-year-old girl, at their Whitestone Court home in Trotwood, court documents state.

Coleman is accused of assaulting them with a hammer, broom, an extension cord and a vacuum cleaner hose, according to a court document. She also is accused of cutting one. Also, detectives stated she used her bare hands to assault them and sprayed one in the face with bug spray, according to the court filing.

Coleman is in good standing on the State-Tested Ohio Nurse Aide Registry, which shows she has been on the registry since 1997 and her license is valid through June 2019.

One neighbor said the accusations are disturbing.

“And it’s just sad hearing stuff like that, you know, that you would be that brutal to some children,” said Brian Curry of Trotwood.

Coleman is being held on a $500,000 bond. She has been in the Montgomery County Jail since her Oct. 1 arrest at her home, online jail and court records show.

She is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

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