Toddler abuse case reaches court

GREAT FALLS — As the Leader went to press on Tuesday, a trial had begun in Great Falls for a man who allegedly beat a toddler with ties to the Mission Valley in Jan. 2013.

Riley Charlo-Whitworth, reportedly the boyfriend of the child’s mother, Alexis Paul, at the time of the incident, faces felony counts of aggravated assault, criminal endangerment, assault on a minor and tampering with physical evidence.

Updates from testimony given in the courtroom indicate that the two-year-old child was in good health when Paul left for an evening work shift, leaving the toddler in the care of Charlo-Whitworth. During that time, the child suffered severe injuries, including a broken leg and numerous bruises, which Charlo-Whitworth originally claimed were sustained by falling down some stairs.

After being flown to Seattle for medical treatment, the child was returned the care of his father, who lives in St. Ignatius.

Paul pled guilty last week to a charge of criminal endangerment after admitting that she failed to seek immediate medical attention for the child. She was called to testify in the ongoing case facing Charlo-Whitworth.