Fort Belvoir woman pleads guilty to brutally beating her 10-year-old child

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fort Belvoir woman pled guilty yesterday to assault with a dangerous weapon; assault by striking, beating, and wounding; and cruelty to children.

According to court documents, on Oct. 8, 2024, China Ashley Charles, 38, was enraged at her 10-year-old child because his bedroom was messy. She struck him with a chair, dresser drawers, a hot iron, a charging wire, a hairbrush, and a large serving spoon. She attempted to strike his face with the iron, but he blocked it with his hands.  When Charles hit the child with the charging wire, his finger was cut and began bleeding.

Charles tried to hide her crime by making the child sit in a cold bath and splashing cold water on his face.

The child dropped onto the roof from his second-floor bedroom and then jumped down from the roof and fled. He was recovered by police with substantial bruises, abrasions, a knot on the back of his head, and a cut and bleeding finger. The child was transported to the emergency room at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital by ambulance.

Law enforcement recovered numerous items from China’s residence, including the iron, chair, hairbrush, spoon, multiple dresser drawers, and a sweater and a shirt with “I’M ON PUNISHMENT” written on them in black marker. Several of these items appeared to have blood on them, and further examination confirmed that the child’s blood was located on the iron and at least one dresser drawer.  The child’s sister reported that China had been beating him for the past four years.

Charles is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9 and faces up to 16 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jake Cameron, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys April N. Russo and Marc J. Birnbaum and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire M. Horrell are prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-248.