Perry woman pleads not guilty to endangering welfare of a child

NEW LONDON, Mo. – A Perry woman made her first virtual appearance in Ralls County Circuit Court Monday and entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Court records show 19-year-old Cherish Jade Maxwell-Riley, 19, was referred to a public defender and will make another appearance for a bond hearing on July 28.

A bond hearing for Maxwell-Riley has been scheduled for 9 a.m. next Monday.

Ralls County deputies responded to a call of a child not breathing on the morning of July 22 at a Perry daycare. The child was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital and was diagnosed with multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, brain bleed and detached retina.

Maxwell-Riley was arrested and charged following a police investigation where she allegedly told officers she had picked up the child in a “forcible way”.