Ozark mother, man indicted on child abuse charges

By Ebony Horton

Published: July 22, 2008

A Dale County grand jury indicted a mother and a man who were charged with severely abusing a 7-year-old boy earlier this year.

June Vicki Henry, 27, and Eddie Ledbetter, 24, of Ozark are expected to be arraigned July 29 on charges of aggravated child abuse, according to court records.

The Dale County Sheriff’s Office charged both in January after Henry’s 7-year-old son was reported to have seven broken ribs, flea bites behind his ears, burn marks on his feet, cracked teeth and a sore inside his mouth.

Investigators said Henry and Ledbetter had taken the child to Dale Medical Center four days before their arrests because of a sore inside his mouth.

Ledbetter was Henry’s boyfriend at the time of the incident, according to investigators.

Defense attorney Jim Jacobs argued during an earlier hearing that there was “no proof” either Henry or Ledbetter had caused the injuries to the child.

Jacobs said Henry was a stay-at-home mother who had previously worked at a daycare.

Henry had been released from the Dale County Jail in April on a $15,000 bond, while Ledbetter remained on $100,000 bond, according to court records.