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MANITOWOC — Kimberly A. Howell, a 52-year-old Manitowoc woman, appeared in Manitowoc County Circuit Court Monday for an initial appearance on five felony charges related to child abuse.
A probable cause statement said five children were placed with Howell for foster care.
According to the criminal complaint, Howell was being investigated jointly by the Manitowoc Police Department and the Department of Human Services after an anonymous source said at least one child was being neglected.
Interviews from two of the children in the household showed that an 11-year-old child, referred to in the complaint as Child A, received most of the abuse, according to the criminal complaint.
In the complaint, one of the children stated Child A steals things such as food, candy and clothing items like socks, and that as punishment, Howell would force that child to do push-ups or endure beatings from the other children.
They also said Child A cooks the meals for the entire family but isn’t allowed to eat those meals. Instead, Child A is only allowed to eat rice and drink water or milk. Child A also does most of the laundry, cleaning and chores in the home, including caring for a 1-year-old in the home.
According to the complaint, Child A is the only child in the home that is homeschooled. Child A told investigators they didn’t go to school because “they didn’t have enough money to pay for their ‘tuition’ at Wilson Junior High.”
The complaint outlines one event when Child A was cooking hamburgers for the family’s dinner. They flipped the hamburgers too soon, causing them to shrink. Howell became angry and tried to hit the child. The child ducked out of the way, and when Howell told them to come to her so they could be hit, the child said no and kept their distance. Howell told Child A they would be beaten with a belt when they fell asleep.
Later that night, Child A pretended to be asleep and Howell began hitting them with a belt, according to the complaint.
Child A is also the only child in the home who does not sleep in a bed. According to the complaint, Child A is forced to sleep on the floor in Howell’s bedroom with a pillow and a blanket. The complaint also said that Howell would sometimes punish the child by taking away the pillow and blanket or forcing the child to sleep on the bathroom floor.
In the criminal complaint, Child A told investigators that they had attempted suicide and “pray to God for a sign to know that He is actually real, because they ‘can’t deal with this anymore.’”
Howell is charged with three felony counts of causing mental harm to a child and two felony counts of physically abusing a child.
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If convicted, Howell could see up to 12 years and six months in state prison for each count of causing mental harm to a child and up to six years for each count of physically abusing a child.
Howell was released from county jail on Dec. 26 on a personal recognizance bond. She is expected back in court on Feb. 4 for a preliminary hearing.
Contact Alisa Schafer at 920-686-2105 or aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.
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