Hearings canceled in Beavercreek child abuse case

Hearings were canceled Thursday for four people arrested after a Beavercreek child reported being hit with a belt approximately 200 times.

A preliminary hearing had been set in Fairborn Municipal Court for Marquette Cantrell, 35; Tammara Moreland, 36; Tchanavian Cantrell, 35; and John Wesley Cantrell III, 36; all of Beavercreek. However, the docket in the case says it didn’t take place.

“The court has received information that this matter was presented to the grand jury,” the docket in the case against John Cantrell says. “Therefore, the preliminary hearing is hereby canceled.”

The grand jury is mentioned in Moreland’s and Tchanavian Cantrell’s cases, too. Information about the grand jury hearing wasn’t available Thursday and Greene County Prosecutor David Hayes said grand jury hearings are secret and his office could not disclose information about it.

In Marquette Cantrell’s case, the docket says the preliminary hearing was waived.

The investigation began on Oct. 8. A Beavercreek school notified Greene County Children Services after receiving information that a child was being abused, according to court documents. One of the adults reportedly told the district the child was going to be home-schooled.

About a week later, the child showed up at school for class. School officials contacted an unnamed person because they thought the child was being homeschooled, according to an affidavit. When the child found out they were going to be picked up, they ran outside and into a wooded area nearby.

The Greene County Sheriff ’s Office responded and found the child in a tree line near the school shortly after arriving. The child told the sheriff ’s office they didn’t want to be returned because they were being physically abused, according to court documents. The sheriff’s office then contacted Greene County Children Services.

The child told a caseworker “whoopings” occurred anytime something went wrong and said the four suspects used a black belt, metal belt and brown belt to hit them, according to court records.

During an interview at Michael’s House Child Advocacy Center, the child said they received about 200 “licks” because they didn’t do their chores correctly about two or three weeks ago, according to a court affidavit. The child also reported that alcohol was poured on the injuries and that other children in the home were brought out to watch them get hit.

A next date were not listed in the cases’ dockets.