Idaho Falls woman pleads not guilty to beating young child
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IDAHO FALLS — A 24-year-old woman will stand trial on allegations that she beat a child so severely he had to be hospitalized with brain injuries.
Lorena Ocampo-Garcia of Idaho Falls pleaded not guilty during an arraignment hearing in District court Tuesday. She is accused of using a 14-inch long hard plastic toy to strike a three-year-old child she was babysitting on Feb. 23. EMT’s were called to the 800 block of Lakewood Ave. where they said the boy was unresponsive, vomiting and bleeding from his nose and mouth.
Ocampo-Garcia was charged with aggravated battery and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony in relation to the beating.
Randolph B. Neal, Ocampo-Garcia’s attorney, asked Judge Dane Watkins to delay the trial so he could obtain medical records pertaining to the alleged victim. He also raised questions about police investigators assigned to the case and stated that interrogation techniques used to get confessions can not always be trusted.
Neal said Ocampo-Garcia has received death threats and criticized authorities for providing “inappropriate information” to the media.
“We need to get all the clowns back in the car,” Neal told the court, referring to pre-trial publicity. “Next thing we’ll know this will be a ten-part series on Netflix.”
After the hearing, Neal told EastIdahoNews.com that publicity about this case has become a serious problem for his client.
“The rush to judgment by law enforcement and some members of the public has been unfair,” Neal said. “We believe that the medical evidence will show that the State’s theory of how this child was injured is simply wrong. We ask for everyone’s patience, and to remember the presumption of innocence, until these allegations can receive a fair hearing.”
Ocampo-Garcia’s trial has been scheduled for July 19. She was booked into the Bonneville County Jail but bonded out Feb. 29.