Susan Ford and Anthony Maggi each was charged with 2 counts of assault and battery on a child with injury after an investigation into bruises on the body of Ford's 20-month-old son.
PALMER – A Monson couple on Wednesday denied charges of assault and battery on a child with injury, and will return to district court in February for pretrial conferences.
Susan K. Ford, 22, and Anthony R. Maggi, 25, of 31 Elm St., apt. 2, each was charged by state police with two counts of assault and battery on a child with injury after an investigation into bruises on the body of Ford's 20-month-old son.
The bruising was reported in July, and was observed all over the child's body, according to court documents.
According to Trooper Laurie Gillis's report included in the court file, Ford said the bruising must be from the child pinching himself.
The state Department of Children and Families took temporary custody of Ford's two children in late July, according to the report. The child involved in the investigation then was placed in the custody of a family member, and no more bruising was observed, Gillis wrote.
Judge Patricia T. Poehler released Ford and Maggi on their own recognizance and ordered them to cooperate with the state Department of Children and Families. They will return to court Feb. 24.