Stepmother accused of hitting 7-year-old girl with belt, saying she ‘should feel pain’

RANDOLPH COUNTY, W.Va. (WDTV/Gray News) - A West Virginia woman is facing charges after she allegedly hit her 7-year-old stepdaughter with a belt in an incident that the girl’s father says “went too far.”

MaCayla Johnson, 24, has been charged with child abuse resulting in injury, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

The 7-year-old victim’s father called the school and told officials he wanted to let them know about an incident the evening before that “went too far” before the teachers noticed, court documents say.

The father told authorities that the girl was not listening, and when she was being punished, she said it didn’t hurt. Johnson, the victim’s stepmother, then allegedly commanded that “she should feel pain and grabbed a belt,” court documents say.

Authorities confirmed that the girl had bruising on her arms, hand and lower back.

Johnson told police she “had been going through a lot” and was “bombarded,” so she took the victim into the bathroom and used the belt to hit her two times, court documents say.

Johnson said the girl started moving back and forth, pinning herself in between the toilet and the bathtub, according to court documents. The suspect allegedly told her, “Stop. If the punishment don’t hurt, why are you fighting it?”

She then explained the 7-year-old’s bruising came from the girl attempting to cover her backside, court documents say.

Police asked Johnson if at any time during the incident she felt like she was going too far, and Johnson said yes, according to court documents.

Johnson was being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail with bond set at $2,000 cash.