A 31-year-old Lexington woman is facing a felony child abuse charge after Davidson County investigators said she caused serious mental injuries to a child who was between 4 and 7 years old, with the alleged conduct reportedly stretching back to 2021. Holly Brook Lanning, of Frog Pond Drive, was taken into custody this week as part of an investigation that detectives say uncovered years of harm done to a juvenile in their care.
According to the-dispatch.com, Lanning was arrested by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office and charged with felony intentional child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. The arrest warrant accused her of causing “serious mental injury such as post-traumatic stress disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” in the child, according to the outlet. The warrant also indicates the actions at the heart of the charge began in 2021, the news organization reported.
The case first became known to authorities months ago. FOX8 WGHP reports that the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office received a report in June of past child abuse involving two juveniles. Investigators went on to obtain an arrest warrant charging Lanning with felony child abuse inflicting serious injury earlier this month, per the station’s report.
What Detectives Say They Found
During the investigation, detectives determined that Lanning had inflicted serious mental injury upon a juvenile child, the station’s report states. Per the same account, detectives said the child allegedly experienced years of physical, psychological and verbal abuse that preceded the serious mental injury.
Accounts differ on what happened once Lanning was taken into custody. FOX8 WGHP’s reporting states she was arrested and taken to the Davidson County Detention Center, where she was held with no bond. The-dispatch.com, however, reported that Lanning was released after posting $500,000 unsecured bond. The available reporting does not resolve the discrepancy between the two accounts.
A Second Davidson County Case
Lanning’s arrest comes amid a separate child abuse case in the same county. The-dispatch.com reported that Taishia La Nai Case, 45, was accused of causing a child’s injuries and was arrested Aug. 30 on a charge of felony child abuse inflicting serious physical injury. In that investigation, the outlet reported that a forensic interview led the child to disclose additional acts of abuse, including a previous incident that reportedly left permanent scarring.
Under North Carolina law, a parent or other person who commits an assault upon a child resulting in serious physical injury is guilty of a Class D felony, except as otherwise provided under a separate subsection, according to North Carolina General Assembly statute G.S. 14-318.4. That excerpt concerns serious physical injury and does not establish how the statute applies to the specific allegations against Lanning.
