Ryanne Elizabeth Foster (Craighead County Detention Center)
An Arkansas mother, just 21 years old, has avoided jail time despite inflicting severe harm on her 6-month-old child, with injuries so grave that medical professionals likened them to those sustained in a significant car crash.
Ryanne Foster, residing in Jonesboro, entered a guilty plea to charges of second-degree battery this week, resulting in a sentence of 36 months probation, as reported by the local news outlet Jonesboro Right Now.
As part of her probation, Foster is prohibited from contacting her child and is required to obtain a GED. Should she breach the terms of her probation agreement, she risks a prison sentence of up to six years, according to the same source.
According to Law&Crime, the prosecution alleged that Foster’s abusive actions occurred in July 2024, following a distress call to the Jonesboro Police Department. Officers responded to a report of an infant being treated for severe injuries, which led to the child being admitted to St. Bernards Hospital. Given the critical nature of the injuries, the infant was subsequently transferred to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for advanced medical care.
During the investigation at the hospital, authorities interviewed Foster and her husband about the events leading to their baby’s condition. The couple claimed their child, a premature birth survivor, had been experiencing seizures since being released from the neonatal intensive care unit, as detailed in court records.
The father allegedly noted that the seizures took place when he was not with Foster and the baby, and that each time the seizures occurred, Foster refused to seek medical attention.
Prosecutors and police said the father claimed Foster did not have an emotional connection with the child and repeatedly referred to them as “a potato” and “sack of flour,” Jonesboro Right Now reports.
Foster alleged that her baby’s injuries occurred during the most recent seizure, which ended with the child falling from the couch. Police noted that the couch Foster claimed the infant fell from was no higher than her knee.
Doctors who treated the child told investigators the infant was suffering from “mixed bleeding on the right and left brain, micro-bruising on the front and back brain” as well as arm and leg fractures.
“When I asked the doctor about what could cause injuries like this in a 6-month-old child, I was told that it would have to be a very bad car accident or physical abuse,” police wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
During the investigation, the child’s father told police he had left Foster and moved out of the home, explaining he was afraid that if he and the baby stayed with her then the infant “could wind up dead,” local television station KAIT reported.
Referencing the “sack of flour” and “potato” statements, the father said Foster had more of an emotional connection “to their dog than baby.”