SHERWOOD, Ore. -- A babysitter accused of abusing a 1-year-old boy has been charged after an Oregon community and countless social media users demanded action from officials.
Frustrated with the state's legal system, Alicia Quinney and Joshua Marbury posted a picture of their badly bruised son, Jacob, on Facebook. They say they took it after coming home to find the child on the floor crying, and his babysitter, Markell Hilaire, asleep on the couch.
Markell Deon Hilaire was charged with criminal mistreatment and assault. (Washington County Sheriff's Office)
"The first thing I saw was Jacob’s black eye," Quinney told KPTV. "And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what happened?’ And he turned over and the whole side of his face was black and blue."
Quinney and Marbury said they took their son to the hospital after the incident, where doctors and social workers took pictures, documenting the injuries. They also filed a police report.
A spokesman with the Sherwood Police Department said the case was under investigation, and in the hands of the Washington County District Attorney.
Marbury says he posted the photos on social media after he waited for two months, only to find out authorities had declined to arrest Hilaire because of a bizarre loophole in the law.
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Marbury wrote on Facebook:
After the Facebook post was shared more than 400,000 times, the Washington County district attorney decided to charge Hilaire with criminal mistreatment and assault. The prosecutor's office gave this statement to KPTV: