According to authorities, Jashyah Moore, the missing 14-year-old from New Jersey who was found safe in New York City, reportedly abused by her mother for years.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Essex County court, Jamie Moore is accused of assaulting her daughter verbally and physically, forcing her to panhandle, and refusing to enroll her in school.
The complaint states that Jashyah ran away from her NJ home to escape her mother’s abuse.
“The young lady appears to have run away,” Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens III said. “And she did not want to make herself known to anyone as to where she was. She seemed to be … more so at ease where she was.”
Last week, the teen was found in NYC after she went missing in October after going to a deli near her East Orange, NJ home.
Before being found, the teen had spent time in several areas throughout New Jersey and New York City area, including a shelter in Brooklyn, according to Stephens.
According to the complaint, when Jashyah vanished, she went home and told her mother that she had misplaced their EBT card. The complaint also states that Jamie Moore verbally and physically beat her daughter for losing the card.
The girl was allegedly beaten with objects such as a frying pan on many occasions. Jashyah also has been stabbed in the shoulder, has had bleach sprayed in her eyes, and had her hair pulled out by her mother.
According to the complaint, Jashyah suffered scars and bruises as a result of the alleged mistreatment. She was forced to care for her 3-year-old brother, which included cooking so they wouldn’t starve.
The complaint also states that Jashyah missed days of virtual schooling because she was forced to care for her younger brother, and her mother allegedly refused to enroll her in the 2021-22 school year.
In addition to the alleged abuse, Jashyah was also forced to beg for money on the street, according to the complaint. It claims that if she returned home without a particular amount of money, her mother would allegedly beat her.
The complaint portrays Jamie Moore in a totally different light than what she showed to the public. During the press release, Moore grieved and pleaded for her daughter’s safe return during the hunt for Jashyah.
“I cannot imagine what she might be going through just being away from us this long, being away from her family who loves her very much,” the mother said at a press conference. “If anybody knows anything, please, please come forward.”
According to a statement from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey, the mother was arrested on charges of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, which include “allegations of physical abuse and also neglect.”
It’s unclear whether Jamie Moore has retained legal counsel. The Essex County Correctional Facility is where she is being detained.
On Wednesday, a detention hearing will be held. The state Division of Child Protection and Permanency has taken Jashyah and her 3-year-old brother from their mother’s custody.
Did you guys mean to write “ abused BY her mother” in the first paragraph?