Inset: Courtney Crites (West Virginia Division of Corrections). Background: The area in West Virginia where Courtney Crites allegedly pummeled a child with a wooden paddle that she called “the attitude adjuster” at a home she shares with her boyfriend (Google Maps).
A troubling case of alleged child abuse has emerged in West Virginia, involving Courtney Crites, a 32-year-old resident of Belington. Crites is accused of repeatedly assaulting a young boy with a wooden paddle ominously named “the attitude adjuster.” The accusations extend to other forms of abuse, such as kicking the boy “in the privates” and forcing him to endure “freezing cold” conditions outside, as reported by local authorities and corroborated by other children residing in the household.
The allegations came to light after a local child advocacy center took up the case, following a police notification. The center’s investigation led to Crites’ arrest on Friday. According to a criminal complaint accessed by Law&Crime, the case was built upon interviews conducted with five children living in Crites’ home, which she shared with her boyfriend. These interviews were recorded and presented to police, resulting in Crites being charged with three counts of felony child abuse.
The complaint details the boy’s testimony, which describes a pattern of physical and verbal abuse. “[The boy] reported that Ms. Crites had kicked him, hit him, and screamed at him,” according to the document. He recalled an incident where he was kicked in the privates, an assault that occurred roughly two months prior to the investigation.
Punishment for minor missteps, such as not putting away clothes properly, reportedly involved the use of the paddle, which Crites referred to as “the attitude adjuster.” The complaint recounts a particularly harrowing episode where Crites allegedly forced the child outside in freezing temperatures, only to let him back inside to strike him with the paddle, breaking it in the process.
The boy described sustaining bruises on his shoulder, chest, and back from these incidents, injuries that lingered for “a couple of months,” according to police reports. He further recounted that Ms. Crites would sometimes express her anger by walking past him and kicking him.
“[The boy] described the injuries sustained from being hit as bruises on his shoulder, chest and back, and that the bruises lasted for ‘a couple months,’” according to police. “[The boy] continued to advise that when Ms. Crites would get mad she would walk past him and kick him.”
The child allegedly told investigators that he was “scared to death” of Crites after she “broke the paddle by hitting him with it.” He described the wooden board as being approximately 2 inches by 4 inches, and roughly 2 feet in length.
The relationship between the boy and Crites is unclear. Police say the woman resides with the other minor children and victim at their home in Barbour County.
Crites is currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with her bond set at $100,000. She was due to appear in court Monday for a disposition hearing.
