A 30-year-old Moraine woman will spend 21 days in jail and up to five years on probation after pleading guilty to a felony count of endangering children, following a case in which a young boy suffered severe burns covering about a third of one hand after she allegedly held it against a hot stove burner as punishment.
Sarah Niyonzima was sentenced in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court by Judge Kimberly A. Melnick, according to WHIO. The case began in May, when a Moraine police sergeant was notified that a suspected child abuse victim was being treated at Dayton Children's Hospital, which the station reports works in conjunction with CARE House, Montgomery County's dedicated child advocacy center that coordinates medical, forensic, and victim support services for abused children, according to Dayton Children's Hospital.
According to a court affidavit and facts statement cited by the station's report, the child had severe burns covering roughly a third of his hand along with burns on the tops of his fingers. The boy told the sergeant that Niyonzima held his hand on a stove burner turned to high as punishment, and according to court documents, he said she had done this to him three separate times.
From Municipal Filing to Felony Indictment
Niyonzima was arrested the same day police were notified of the hospital report, and jail records confirmed she was booked into the Montgomery County Jail, per the same account. Court documents were filed in Kettering Municipal Court, and a Montgomery County grand jury indicted her on May 14, 2026, on felony counts of felonious assault and endangering children, as reported by WHIO.
Niyonzima pleaded guilty to a single count of child endangering, the station's report notes. Ohio Revised Code § 2919.22(B)(3) makes it a felony to administer corporal punishment or physical discipline that is excessive under the circumstances and creates a substantial risk of serious physical harm to a child, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
The Sentence
Niyonzima was sentenced to 21 days in jail and up to five years of probation, according to WHIO.
Melnick served more than 20 years as an assistant prosecutor in Montgomery County before Governor Mike DeWine announced her appointment to the Common Pleas bench on March 24, 2022; she was set to assume office on April 11, according to the Office of Governor Mike DeWine. The announcement said she would have to run for election in 2022.
A Local Pattern Reflected in County Data
Montgomery County Children Services received 3,134 reports for assessment in 2025, down from 3,750 the year before, but more than 1,500 of those 2025 cases were related to child abuse, according to WYSO.
Montgomery County's 24-hour child abuse hotline, 937-224-KIDS, operated by Children Services, is available for residents to report suspected physical abuse or neglect. Niyonzima's case began with a hospital report and ended in a felony conviction after severe pediatric injuries raised suspicion of abuse.
