The stepfather at first refused to tell officers what had happened, and the victim’s mother said she and her daughter had been in an argument and her husband had been holding her back.
The investigation revealed the daughter and stepfather had been having an affair, which is believed to have triggered the argument, according to a police report. Using a translation app, the victim told officers her mother had allegedly struck her with a small gardening shovel in the head and leg.
The mother denied this, although her husband confirmed the relationship with his stepdaughter but said he did not see an assault take place, saying he only stepped in between the two to separate them.
The mother was arrested and charged with domestic violence and taken to the Butler County Jail. Written statements and other appropriate domestic violence forms were impossible to complete due to the victim’s lack of understanding and inability to communicate the English language, the report said.
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