(Michigan City, IN) - A Michigan City woman could face time in prison for using a belt on her six year old autistic son.

 

Ashlen Heitkamp, 25, is charged in La Porte Superior Court 1 with domestic battery and neglect of a dependent, both Level 6 felonies.

 

According to court documents, authorities became involved in July after the grandparents discovered marks on his buttocks and stomach when changing his clothes to take him swimming.  Police said Heitkamp told investigators some of the marks were from neighborhood children kicking him but the others were from the belt she used on him for pooping on the carpet and trying to cover it up with laundry.

 

According to court documents, her home on Kentucky Street was also covered in mold and contained an odor of ammonia and cat feces strong enough to burn the nostrils of one of the investigators.

 

There was also the smell of suspected marijuana in the residence, police said.

 

Heitkamp could face anywhere from six months to 30 months on each count.