Alabama woman charged with beating, forcing 4-year-old to eat makeup pleads guilty to child abuse

Published 1:41 pm Tuesday, February 7, 2023

On the brink of her trial, an Alabama woman pleaded guilty to child abuse charges after police said she beat and forced a 4-year-old child to eat makeup.

Rebecca Lynn Barnett, 24, of Florence, Alabama, was set to go on trial this week, but instead entered a guilty plea on Monday.

As part of Barnett’s plea agreement, she agreed to the maximum of 10 years in prison, WHNT-TV reported.

However, as part of the plea agreement she is allowed to enter a pre-trial diversion program which would allow her case to be dismissed after a 24-month split sentence. If she fails to complete the program or otherwise does not follow the terms of the plea agreement, the full 10-year prison sentence.