Galloway woman inflicted starvation, bloody assault on 9-year-old, cops say

GALLOWAY — The legal guardian of a 9-year-old girl was charged with assaulting the girl with a metal spatula and starving her to the point where she was "extremely emaciated," according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon Tyner.

Stephanie Gregory, 56, of Galloway was charged on Wednesday with not feeding the girl properly and using the spatula to open up wounds and welts on her body, according to Tyner. The girl could barely walk when Child Protection and Permanency removed the girl from the home, the prosecutor said.

The Atlantic County SWAT team was involved with Gregory's arrest but Tyner did not disclose the circumstances.

She was charged on Wednesday with two counts of second-degree aggravated assault and six counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child whom she was the legal guardian of.

She also is the guardian of the child’s two siblings.

A spokeswoman from the prosecutor's office on Friday morning did not respond to New Jersey 101.5's request for more information about the girl's siblings.

Gregory is also charged with one count of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, heroin, and is being held at the Atlantic County Justice Facility.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ