ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A St. Augustine woman received six months in jail after pleading no contest to child abuse charges after authorities said she whipped a 7-year-old girl with a belt, court records show.
Amanda Dea Rauch, 23, was sentenced to jail time Monday followed by three-plus years of probation, according to St. Johns County court records.
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According to an arrest warrant, the girl told a relative last summer that bruises on her body were the result of a beating at the hands of Rauch. She said Rauch's friend suggested wetting the belt "to make it hurt worse."
Investigators stated Rauch’s friend refused to speak to them, saying she didn’t want to be involved in the matter, according to a copy of the warrant. The warrant stated that Rauch acknowledged spanking the child over the clothes with her hand, but contended a belt was never used.
The investigator noted in the report that the child had visible horizontal bruises on the lower half of her body that appeared to be consistent with a belt or some kind of object.
The relationship between the child and Rauch is not exactly clear.