MUSKEGON, MI – A woman has accepted a settlement for her role in a child abuse case in which she forced her boyfriend’s child to hold a hot pan as punishment for being too loud.
Terrie Lynn Ferry, 37, was dating Jimmy Creekmore when the abuse was first discovered by a neighbor.
Creekmore, 38, beat and tortured the 13-year-old, who was at times put in a chokehold and pushed down the stairs as punishment.
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MLive/Muskegon Chronicle is not disclosing the child’s gender to protect his anonymity as a victim.
Police began investigating in January 2023, when the teenager was forced to shovel snow in temperatures of 12 degrees. Hours later, the teenager went to a neighbor’s house because of the cold. There, the injuries came to light.
Doctors said the teen suffered head injuries, a broken finger, burns to his palm and a fractured nose. The palm injury was caused by Ferry forcing the teen to hold a hot pan because he was too loud, police wrote in an affidavit.
Ferry appeared before Muskegon County District Judge Annette Smedley for a hearing via Zoom on Tuesday, August 27. She accepted the agreement from Muskegon County prosecutors and pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse, a crime punishable by 10 years in prison.
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There was no agreement on a recommended sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Katie Norton.
The appeal against the decision was due to memory loss due to a recent injury, said defense attorney Thomas Mysliwiec. Ferry could not remember all the events related to the abuse, Mysliwiec added.
The judge accepted the plea and Ferry is scheduled to appear for sentencing on September 25.
Creekmore is currently serving a minimum sentence of 50 years in prison for first-degree child molestation and sexual abuse. He was also sentenced to 60 years in a federal prison for using a young child to produce child pornography.
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