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ST. GEORGE — A woman pleaded guilty to two second-degree felony counts of child abuse in 5th District Court Wednesday.
Tiresa Aliitasi Sauni, 24, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated child abuse on May 3, 2012. Officers responded to a call that Sauni was abusing her 2-year-old daughter, according to court documents.
There were numerous bruises and scars visible on the back and stomach of the girl when St. George Police Sgt. Rich Triplett arrived, according to the probable cause statement.
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Charges against a man accused of abusing his girlfriend's 1-year-old son will likely be enhanced now that the baby has died, police said Thursday."Tiresa informed me that several months ago she whipped (the victim) repeatedly, around 30 times, with a belt," Triplett wrote.
He said she told him the whipping left numerous lacerations in the girl's skin.
There were also strangulation marks around the girl's neck, he wrote. The mother told him she strangled her daughter with her hands until the girl turned black with bruising.
Sauni also punished her daughter by tying a hair tie around her wrist so tight that it cut into her skin and by punching her daughter after she wet her pants, he wrote.
"Tiresa stated that she abused (the victim) repeatedly for months," Triplett wrote.
Sauni agreed to plead guilty to the two charges of child abuse. She is scheduled to appear in court again on March 26 and could face between two and 30 years in prison.
