Grant man charged with child abuse, possession of deadly weapon
A Grant man has been charged in the Perkins County Court with child abuse and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person.
An arraignment was held July 6 for Timothy E. Ledford, 44, for the charges of intentional child abuse, a Class IIIA Felony, which carries a three-year prison sentence, a $10,000 fine or both; and for the charge of possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, a Class IB Felony, which carries a 50-year prison sentence.
The events leading to the charges allegedly occurred June 5 at Ledford’s home in Grant.
Ledford was arrested by the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office on June 25 and transported to the Keith County Jail where he posted bail for 10 percent of $100,000.
According to an arrest affidavit, Ledford allegedly caused or permitted a minor child, allegedly one of Ledford’s children, to be “cruelly confined or punished.” According to the affidavit, Ledford “forced the minor to stand in a position against the wall called ‘spread eagle’ until she could no longer do so, and when she sat down on the floor, Ledford allegedly proceeded to strike the (victim) with a belt across her legs, pulled her across the room and continued to strike her feet with the belt until she stood up, which caused bruising on the inside of her thighs.”
Also, according to the affidavit, while being investigated for the charge of child abuse, it was discovered by the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office that Ledford is a convicted felon, which prohibits him from possessing firearms, which the Perkins County Sheriff discovered he had in his possession.
Ledford has been previously convicted of a felony in January 1999 in Lane County Circuit Court, Oregon on two counts of theft, 1st degree, and burglary, 1st degree; unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Multnomah Circuit Court, Oregon, conviction date August 1997; and burglary 1st degree and theft 1st degree in Lance County Circuit Court, August 1997.
On June 27, deputies from the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Ledford’s residence to search for the firearms that were allegedly in Ledford’s possession. However, no firearms were located. Ledford’s wife, Teresa, admitted to taking the firearms to a different location. She led PCSO deputies to the guns’ location, according to the affidavit.
The PCSO recorded in the affidavit the following guns confiscated: a Taurus .380 pistol, an AR-15 rifle, a 12 GA pump action shotgun, a bolt action .410 GA shotgun, a lever action .22 rifle, an ammo box containing 19 boxes of ammunition associated with an AR-15 rifle, a large luggage bin containing a firearm cleaning kit, miscellaneous ammunition of various calibers, and two loaded rifle magazines for an AR-15 style firearm.
A preliminary hearing has been set for July 20 at 1 p.m. for Ledford. Watch future editions of the Tribune for updates in this case.