Pair appears in court on Duchesne child abuse charges

DUCHESNE — A West Bountiful woman made her initial appearance in 8th District Court late last month on charges that she helped her boyfriend repeatedly burn her 2-year-old daughter or knew about the alleged abuse and did nothing to stop it.

Tina Ann Gleason, 24, was in court on Sept. 29. She is charged with six counts of second-degree felony child abuse. The charges stem from injuries prosecutors say were inflicted by William August Thompson on Gleason's daughter between July 2 and July 8.

Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Travis Tucker said Thompson burned the girl with a handheld steam cleaner, causing injuries to one of her arms, a leg, a shoulder, and an upper thigh. The lieutenant said Gleason knew the alleged abuse was taking place and didn't intervene. She may have even participated in it, he said.

"One report is that she was actually holding the child when the biggest burn happened," Tucker said. "The second-degree felonies would be a charge for each burn."

Tucker said deputies responding to a report of a domestic dispute in Tabiona in late July between Thompson and Gleason saw the girl's injuries, prompting the child abuse investigation.

While deputies in Duchesne County worked on the case, the girl was placed in the custody of her maternal grandmother who lives in Davis County. Tucker said the grandmother took the child to the West Bountiful Police Department. Detectives there conducted their own investigation, Tucker said, and turned over their findings to authorities in Duchesne County.

Duchesne County detectives had difficulty locating Gleason, but were finally able to make contact with her in September, Tucker said. He said she maintains that she had no idea her daughter was being abused.

Thompson, who is from Bear River City, Wyo., is charged with four counts of second-degree felony child abuse and two class A misdemeanor counts of child abuse. He was also in court on Sept. 29 for a preliminary hearing. That hearing was rescheduled for Nov. 13.

Already on probation for a 2006 felony theft conviction in 1st District Court, Thompson has been in custody since his arrest in August.

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E-MAIL: geoff@ubstandard.com