Mom Charged in Boy in Oven Case

The mother of a boy who hid in an oven to escape the man he calls dad has also been charged with child abuse.

Debra Denise Chatman, 27, was charged Friday with endangerment of a child and malicious punishment of a child. Chatman admitted to dragging her 10-year-old son back into the apartment after he had already been burned with an iron and whipped with an extension cord.

William Tajahn Hurley, 23, was charged last Monday with child abuse. According to the criminal complaint, officers were called to Hurley's apartment on the 2000 block of Elliot Ave. S. in Minneapolis, where the boy told police he was beaten for being in his mother's bedroom, which upset Hurley.

The boy said he hid under his bed, but Hurley threatened to kill him if he didn't come out. The boy told police his dad burned him on the leg and arm with a hot iron. When he tried to escape the apartment, the boy's mother allegedly pulled him back inside, where Hurley whipped him with an extension cord.

Hurley talked with FOX 9 late Tuesday night after somebody posted his $18,000 bail for gross misdemeanor child punishment charges.

Hurley says he's not the child's father, but he lived with his mother "from time to time" in a south Minneapolis housing project, served as the child's father figure and would discipline him when he would act out against her.

Hurley admits to whipping the 10-year-old with a video game cord and says he never touched the oven controls to turn the heat on. For that, he's blamed the Chatman.

Chatman admitted to initially beating the boy with a belt and said Hurley further assaulted the boy, including burning him with an iron. She said she heard her son scream, "He's burning me!"

If convicted, Chatman faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each charge.