LOGAN — A 39-year-old Smithfield woman has admitted to whipping a teenage girl with a phone charger cable last month. Norma Elida Bermudez-Villega has been in the Cache County Jail since being arrested April 18.
According to court records, Bermudez-Villega appeared May 5 in Logan’s 1st District Court. She pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal to aggravated assault, amended to a third-degree felony. A remaining charge of intoxication was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled in the future.
According to prosecutors, Smithfield City Police officers were called to a report of child abuse after the victim ran to a neighbor’s house to ask for help. The girl was reportedly barefoot and had welts on her body.
The neighbor provided the teenage girl with a blanket, sweeter and shoes. They then drove her to Capsa, a nonprofit domestic violence center, where police were able to meet with her.
The victim told officers how Bermudez had hit her repeatedly with a phone charger cable, after becoming upset that she had gone to a friend’s house without permission. The girl had red marks on her arms, wrists, back and thighs, according to the probable cause statement.
Police made contact with Bermudez at her home. She admitted to hitting the girl with the cable multiple times.
Bermudez also had an odor of alcohol coming from her person. She later told police that she had drank two 12-packs of Michelob Ultra.
During Monday’s hearing, a judge ordered Bermudez to remain in jail and complete a presentence report. She is scheduled to be sentenced June 2, and could face up to five years in prison.