AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) - A regional director for Georgia's child protection division is facing a child cruelty charge involving her daughter.
Richmond County Jail records show that 34-year-old Sharonika Wesby Wimberly was being held on a charge of first-degree cruelty to children.
Richmond County sheriff's Sgt. Dan Carrier said Academy of Richmond County officials called a state agency's hotline Tuesday to report suspected child abuse and reached the child's mother, Wimberly.
Carrier tells The Augusta Chronicle that Wimberly is the regional director for the Division of Family and Children Services.
Authorities say the 15-year-old student told school officials her mother hit her in the arm with a broom handle for overuse of a cell phone.
A DFCS official said Wimberly has been suspended. Jail records do not indicate whether she has an attorney.
