April Summers

A little more than a month ago, a former area resident and her three friends were being lauded for their quick action and calm heads helping junior high school students get off of a burning bus on an Oklahoma interstate.

Now, the former area resident faces child abuse charges.

According to The Express-Star, a newspaper that serves Grady County, Oklahoma, April Summers, a Panama Central School graduate, was charged with child abuse, failure to protect from child abuse and child neglect. Two of the people who participated in the bus rescue were also charged. Amber Barnes was arrested on charges of child abuse, child neglect and failure to protect from child abuse. Jeffrey Rasmussen was arrested on charges of child abuse by injury, child neglect and failure to protect from child abuse. In addition to Summers, Barnes and Rasmussen have ties to the Jamestown area.

Another person, George Mount, was charged with failure to protect from child abuse and child neglect while an arrest warrant has been issued for William Barnes for child abuse, child neglect and failure to protect from child abuse.

News 4 in Oklahoma City reported that the alleged victim is a 13-year-old boy. The Grady County Sheriff’s Department became involved in the case after a complaint was made by the boy’s teacher to the Department of Human Services, which in turn alerted the Grady County Sheriff’s Department. The television station reports the child was removed from the home in February when the allegations were made. It took investigators between February and late April to build their case, which includes alleged text messages and online conversations between Amber Barnes and April Summers regarding the child being cuffed.

“This child is going to have some things to deal with for years to come and, with him having a disability already, it’s very unfortunate and sad,” Grady County Undersheriff Phil Blevins told News 4. “We’re talking about something that more than likely is going to go to trial, so we’re going to meet the threshold of proving beyond a reasonable doubt. So, we want to make sure we got our ducks in a row so to speak.”

The newspaper, reporting based on documents filed with the Grady County Court, reported Wednesday that a child had marks on its wrist that matched being handcuffed as well as cuts, scrapes and bruises on the child’s back. The child was also missing patches of hair on their head. Rasmussen allegedly handcuffed the child to a table all night on a regular basis, where the child slept on the hardwood floor with no blanket while handcuffed to the table. The documents also said Rasmussen threw a lit cigarette at the victim, which left an injury consistent with a burn.

“She picks him up in the morning and takes him home at the end of the day. When she picks him up, a lot of times, most times, he smells like urine,” Blevins told News 4. “The reason why he smells that way is because, when he gets there, a lot of times, they’ll give him a shower. They’ll change his clothes, wash his clothes but, during the night, he’s handcuffed beside the bed.”

According to the report, William Barnes slept in the same room with the victim. William Barnes allegedly urinated on the victim while intoxicated on several occasions, according to the report. Summers and Amber Barnes allegedly superglued paper paper to the victim’s head and then ripped the paper off when the superglue dried. A Grady County Sheriff’s Deputy observed several places on the victim’s head where patches of hair were missing.

Summers, Rasmussen and Amber Barnes also allegedly sprayed a red, chalk-like chemical on the victim that burned their skin. During another incident, the victim was thrown out the front door of the residence where they landed on a trash pile that cut their back.

The child was taken to the Oklahoma University Medical Center for treatment and admitted for malnutrition, the report said.

According to the Express-Star report, when the Grady County Sheriff’s Office and Human Services worker conducted a welfare check of the remaining children in the residence there was a strong odor of urine in the residence. In the kitchen area, the newspaper reported old food had been left on the kitchen stove and cockroaches were crawling along the walls and countertops and large groups of cockroaches were clustered in several corners of the ceiling and walls.

Both the newspaper and the television station reported that authorities found exchanges via text and Facebook messenger in which Summers and Amber Barnes joked about abusing the victim. Amber Barnes allegedly encouraged Summers to poke the youth’s nose with a needle. Summers allegedly sent two videos to Amber Barnes. One video showed an adult female hand poking what appears to be the youth’s arm with a needle. The youth can be heard screaming and a male voice can be heard saying “You’re going to get hepatitis,” both news outlets reported.

Summers, Amber and Rasmussen are all facing a $300,000 bond. Mount’s bond was set at $100,000.

News 4 in Oklahoma City spoke with Ren Barnes, one of the men who was involved in the bus rescue and husband of Amber Barnes. Barnes said he hadn’t seen or participated in anything. He said he wasn’t at the home often but insists his wife had nothing to do with any of the alleged abuse.

“I don’t want to call the child a liar. I just think the child, from what I know and have been told, he has mental disorders, so I’m just hoping we can figure everything out,” Ren Barnes told the television station. “My wife has expressed to me that she has not [done] anything. She has expressed to me that she has had nothing to do with it. She’s trying her best to cope.”