Couple arrested on charges of child endangerment

A Monessen couple is accused of locking up, beating and starving the man’s 5-year-old child.

Charles W. Smitley V, 29, and Colleen Cassidy, 35, of Delaware Avenue, were both charged by Monessen police with endangering the welfare of children, unlawful restraint of a minor/parent risk of bodily injury and simple assault stemming from an investigation that began Oct. 1, 2024, court records state.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 22, a relative of the child took him to a hospital after seeing his physical condition. The child told investigators that Smitley and Cassidy hit him with a paddle daily and made him sleep on a basement bathroom floor with no blankets.

The child’s grandfather said they have been going through family court regarding custody of the child after Smitley contacted the courts and said he no longer wanted to take care of the child.

When the grandfather took custody of the child, court records state that the child’s clothes were dirty, he had a foul odor and he appeared to not have been bathed in some time. According to the criminal complaint, the child also complained his stomach hurt and appeared to be walking in pain.

The grandfather took the child to Uniontown Hospital after observing numerous bruises on him. The child was transported from Uniontown Hospital to WVU Ruby Memorial Hospital’s pediatric unit in Morgantown, W.Va. for further evaluation.

According to the affidavit, the child told investigators in the hospital that Cassidy and his father had spanked him with a paddle, and that he had been tied to a chair in the past. On May 2, a forensic interview was done with the child, where the child said both Cassidy and Smitley V allegedly made him eat his own feces more than once, had to sleep in the basement bathroom floor with no blankets or padding, and that he would go days without food.

An 11-year-old child also living in the residence told police the boy had been shut in a closet multiple times with his hands taped together, according to court papers.

Both Smitley and Cassidy were arraigned Monday, and both are being held in Westmoreland County Prison unable to post bails of $250,000 and $100,000, respectively.

They both face preliminary hearings before Magisterial District Judge Wayne Vlasic at 9:15 a.m. Aug. 22.