DAYTON — A Riverside mother accused of “serious child abuse” has made her first court appearance Thursday.
Maleah Henry-Reed, 20, appeared in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Thursday morning for her scheduled arraignment.
News Center 7 was in court when Henry-Reed appeared before a judge. There, Judge Mary Wiseman entered a not guilty plea on her behalf.
Henry-Reed, along with 25-year-old Dustin Shade, were indicted last month on four counts of endangering children and one count of tampering with evidence.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, Henry-Reed took her 15-month-old daughter to Hope Medical Center in Dayton on Jan. 17 because the child was sick.
The child was immediately taken by ambulance to Dayton Children’s Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit.
The 15-month-old was so malnourished that she weighed less than 10 pounds, which is closer to what a 15-week-old child would weigh, according to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck, Jr.
The medical staff at Dayton Children’s notified the Riverside Police Department about the critical condition of the child because they suspected abuse, Heck said Friday.
After obtaining a search warrant of Henry-Reed and Shade’s home, the officers met Shade, who was holding the couple’s five-year-old son. The boy was taken to the hospital and was also found to be severely malnourished, only weighing about 20 pounds.
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Officers also noted that the couple’s home was a “mess” and “smelled like urine.”
Henry-Reed’s bond was set at $500,000, but she previously posted bond and has been out of jail since her indictment.
Shade previously pleaded no guilty and remains booked in the Montgomery County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Henry-Reed is scheduled to appear in court again week.