A woman out of West Virginia has been charged with child abuse after being arrested in Pikeville back in March.

26 year old Diana Willis from Logan, West Virigina, has been charged with child abuse in the first degree.

According to officials, Willis had brought her 4 year old daughter to Pikeville Medical Center as she was suffering from several respiratory and gastro-intestinal illnesses. Staff at the hospital allegedly witnessed Willis hitting her daughter multiple times. Staff contacted the police in response. 

Also according to officials, Willis admitted to hitting her child in the mouth, with the justification for doing so being that her daughter was crying and wanted to play with markers.

If convicted, Willis will face 5 to 10 years in prison, with the chance of the sentence being increased to 20 years due to the child’s age.