Erie woman faces assault and child endangerment charges in suspected assault on 2-year-old

An Erie woman is facing felony assault and child endangerment charges after city police accused her of assaulting her 2-year-old child earlier this month.

Anna M. Strawcutter, 24, was arraigned Friday night on a second-degree felony count of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony count of endangering the welfare of children, and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person in an incident that police said happened on Aug. 1.

According to information in Strawcutter's criminal complaint, significant injuries were seen on the child when Strawcutter took the child to a pediatrician, and the child was immediately sent to the emergency room at UPMC Hamot. The child has bruising and blood spots to the face and neck, which were believed to be consistent with strangulation or a smothering event, the investigating Erie police officer wrote in the complaint's affidavit of probable cause.

When police interviewed Strawcutter on Friday, she admitted to placing a hand around the child's neck in an attempt to stop the child from screaming a few days before the visit to the pediatrician, the officer wrote in the affidavit.

Strawcutter was placed in the Erie County Prison on $75,000 bond following her arraignment by Erie 2nd Ward District Judge Ed Wilson on Friday night. A lawyer for her was not listed on her criminal docket sheet.

More: Parents bypass preliminary hearing in case of Erie toddler who froze to death

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com . Follow him on X @ETNhahn .

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie woman faces assault and child endangerment charges in suspected assault on 2-year-old