Woman arrested for hitting child with paddle she called ‘the attitude adjuster,’ police say

BELINGTON, W. Va. (WDTV/Gray News) - A West Virginia woman was arrested for hitting a child with a wooden paddle she called “the attitude adjuster,” according to state police.

Courtney Crites, 32, of Belington, is charged with three counts of child abuse resulting in injury.

Five children were interviewed by authorities during the investigation.

One child said Crites kicked, hit, and screamed at him, according to court documents.

The boy said Crites kicked him “in the privates once” approximately two months ago. He also told investigators that when he does not put “his clothes away the right way,” Crites uses “the paddle called the attitude adjuster,” court documents state.

According to records, on another occasion, Crites pushed the boy outside in the freezing cold before letting him back in. She then allegedly hit him with the paddle hard enough to break it.

Police said when Crites was mad, she would often walk past the child and kick him. Court documents said the boy was “scared to death” about possibly having to go back to live with Crites.

Crites was booked into the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with bond set at $100,000.