Temecula Mother, Boyfriend Plead Not Guilty in Child Abuse Case

A Temecula mother and her once live-in boyfriend officially have denied allegations of child abuse that reportedly left her 2-year-old son severely burned.

Alexa Marie Schumacher, 21, and Matthew Bayless Dement, 25, both of Temecula, pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned Friday at Southwest Justice Center near Murrieta, according to John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

In another development, Dement, who is facing more serious charges in the case, was released from custody May 10 when he posted a $1-million bail bond, according to sheriff’s jail records.

It is alleged that early March 11, Dement and Schumacher took her 2-year-old son to Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta to have him treated for burns reportedly suffered during a bath given late March 10 by Dement.

Hospital staff notified Temecula police, who responded to the medical center.

“John Doe had severe blistering to his right and left legs,” wrote a responding investigator in an affidavit filed with the District Attorney’s Office. “The blisters were located below his knees and extended down his legs, front and back, and to the top of his feet. The bottom of his toes and feet appeared unaffected.”

The investigator wrote that in addition to the blisters, redness extended on the boy’s body from the top of his feet to his stomach and lower back areas.

The toddler also reportedly had scratches above his right eye, on the left side of his forehead and under his left nostril, as well as a bruise on his forehead, the investigator wrote.

The boy was transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for further treatment, and was placed into child protective custody.

Following initial questioning by investigators, Dement and Schumacher were arrested March 11 at Rancho Springs Medical Center on suspicion of willfully harming and/or endangering a child.

When Schumacher was interviewed by police at the hospital, she allegedly stated that the evening of March 10, Dement had given the boy a bath at their Moraga Road apartment.

She reportedly told investigators she was not in the bathroom while Dement bathed her son, but that she knew he had been burned by hot water coming from the bathtub faucet. She said though the boy’s skin was red, she did not believe he had been severely injured, the Temecula police Investigator Dickey wrote.

The child then fell asleep, the mother told investigators, and it was later when she checked on him that she saw his legs were severely blistered, Dickey wrote.

Dement’s alleged story was that he had put placed the naked boy into the bathtub, turned the water on and left the drain open. Dement told police he turned his back for 15 seconds to grab soap when he heard the child yell, Dickey wrote.

Dement allegedly stated he then felt the water and it was extremely hot, so he took the child out of the bath until the water reached a cooler temperature, then continued the bath. He and the mother then reportedly lathered the boy in lotion before he was placed in bed, Dickey wrote.

Another investigator wrote that on March 11 as Dement was booked into Southwest Detention Center, he said “I know I am in trouble” and “I know this looks bad.”

The mother and her boyfriend were released from jail, however, pending a comprehensive investigation.

This included interviewing medical staff. A pediatric doctor assigned to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center told investigators that the injuries to the boy were consistent with child abuse, according to court records.

The 2-year-old boy was also interviewed. When asked how he got hurt, he reportedly said, “Matt was putting me under the water.”

Dement was re-arrested May 1 when prosecutors charged him with torture, willfully endangering a child and inflicting corporal punishment on a child.

Schumacher has since been charged with felony endangerment of a child and/or failure to protect a child.

Both defendants are scheduled to appear July 15 for a felony settlement conference, according to Hall, which is an informal discussion between prosecutors and defense attorneys in front of a judge in which they exchange information pertaining to the case.

Like Dement, Schumacher remains free on bail. Her bond was set at $35,000 after her initial March 11 arrest, records show.