Woman wanted on charges of aggravated assault against 2-year-old boy, prostitution, theft, arrested

PITTSBURGH — A woman who has been on the run and was accused of beating a toddler has been arrested.

Police say a 2-year-old boy with a deep cut and multiple bruises arrived at UPMC Children’s Hospital on Sept. 29, 2023. The boy also had bruises on both eyelids and injuries on his lips, chin and shoulders.

The mother told police she left the boy with her friend, Carley Johnson, 27, while she went to work.

Court documents say Johnson called the mother and said the child had fallen while carrying a plate. The mother told Johnson to take the child a hospital. She did, but left, saying she had to because of her active arrest warrant and because she had marijuana in her purse that police found.

Johnson was asked to stay at the hospital but left the boy there without telling staff.

Investigators determined the injuries were caused by abuse and were not accidental.

At the time of the child abuse charges, Johnson was already wanted because she failed to show up for a Westmoreland County court hearing for charges of robbery and simple assault and she had a warrant for theft out of West Mifflin.

Additionally, Mt. Lebanon Police filed a prostitution charge against her on the same day the alleged child abuse took place.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department said they caught up with Johnson on Wednesday.

Detectives arrested her in the West End just before 8:30 a.m. at a house on Crucible Street.

Police said she was found hiding underneath a stack of blankets.

She is now being held at the Allegheny County Jail.

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