Nicole Young

nyoung@mtcngroup.com

A Cross Plains woman is facing multiple counts of child abuse after police said she admitted to wrapping tape around her special needs child’s head and face, resulting in minor injuries.

Cross Plains Police were called to Village Green Drive in Cross Plains at about 9 a.m. on Tuesday after a woman called and said two small children were standing in her driveway, according to a news release issued by the department on Thursday.

One of the children was completely naked and the other was wearing a dirty diaper, the release said.

The woman did not know the children and was not sure how long they had been standing in her driveway, but she fed and clothed them while the investigation was underway, the release said.

After about two-and-a-half hours, the woman's neighbor, Jody Louise Hyder, 31, came to the scene, said the children were under her care and that they had walked out of her house while she was asleep, the release said.

The children were family members to Hyder, but they were not hers, the release said. It adds that Hyder was taking care of them while their parents were working.

Once Hyder was identified, Cross Plains Police and the Department of Children’s Services discovered that there were prior complaints filed against Hyder for neglect and abuse, and they began to investigate those complaints, the release said.

One of the complaints involved Hyder’s use of tape on her special needs child, the release said.

Investigators visited Hyder’s home, where they said they found the tape used on the special needs child and “poor living conditions,” the release said.

“The house was extremely messy, in need of many repairs, had no electricity and smelled of urine,” the release notes. “Hyder had no cellular or land line phone to make emergency calls had an emergency [occurred] with the children.”

At one point during the investigation, police contacted the mother of the two small children found in Hyder’s neighbor’s driveway, identified as Victoria Paige Patterson, 23, of Cottontown, the release said.

During questioning, Patterson said she was aware of the living conditions in Hyder’s home and that her children had previously been able to exit the house while they were under Hyder’s care, the release said. She also told the authorities that she either had to leave the children with Hyder or “in a drug house,” and she denied any knowledge of the taping incident, the release said.

When questioned, Hyder “did not deny any of the allegations against her,” the release noted.

She is facing one count of aggravated child abuse and neglect and two additional counts of child abuse and neglect, and she was being held at the Robertson County jail on $140,000 bond as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office website.

Patterson is facing one count of child neglect and was being held at the Robertson County jail on $15,000 bond Thursday, the site said.

Both women are due in court on Nov. 7, the site said.

The children involved in the case are now under the care of the Tennessee Department Children’s Services, the release said.

The investigation is continuing.