St. Peters (USA) mother who abused children gets 10-year-prison sentence
July 18, 2014 2:14 pm •
Ref: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-peters-mother-who-abused-children-gets–year-prison/article_197aedd0-5720-513d-872e-61010d9664a7.html
Ada ST. CHARLES COUNTY • A St. Peters mother of three was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison after being found guilty earlier this year of child abuse and child endangerment.
Gina Grzeskowiak, 39, of the of 100 block of Meadow Ridge Court, was charged last July when she threw a can of infant formula at her 9-year-old daughter while they were in a car. The can opened up a gash in the girl’s head, police said. The girl also had bruises on both arms from Grzeskowiak grabbing her and hitting her, authorities said. A 5-month-old boy was inside the vehicle in a car seat without any seat belts.
Gina Grzeskowiak, of St. Peters, was sentenced on three counts of child abuse and one count of child endangerment.
Grzeskowiak was charged as a prior and persistent offender. She has previous convictions in Lincoln County for felony endangering the welfare of a child for driving drunk with her older daughter in the car, and forgery, for using her sister’s name when she was pulled over by police on a traffic violation.
She is also facing felony charges for writing bad checks to Baue Funeral Home to pay for her father’s funeral, court documents show. A hearing on those charges is set next month.
Before handing down the sentence, Circuit Judge Ted House heard an emotional plea for mercy from Grzeskowiak’s mother, Toni Grzeskowiak. She talked about her daughter’s alcohol addiction and asked that she be placed in a long-term treatment program.
House did make the treatment program part of Grzeskowiak’s prison term.