Pennsylvania woman arrested after beating up daughter for reciting Bible verses incorrectly

A child was reportedly beaten and choked by her mother after she failed to recite Bible verses correctly. | Pixabay/stevepb

A 41-year-old woman from Middletown, Pennsylvania was arrested by the police after she allegedly beat up and choked her daughter when she failed to recite Bible verses properly.

Rhonda Kemp Shoffner was charged with aggravated assault against a child, strangulation, and terroristic threats following the incident that occurred on March 14.

The victim, who was under the age of 13, said that Shoffner had been drunk for three days straight when she was assaulted, according to PennLive.

Shoffner reportedly roused her daughter from a nap at around 3 p.m. and told her to call up several family members. When no one answered the calls, she told her daughter to get on her knees in the bathroom, which the victim said was a sign that she would be beaten.

After the child got on her knees, Shoffner started quoting Bible verses, expecting the victim to repeat the lines word for word, according to the police.

When the mother reportedly asked what God told the man to do with his son, the victim replied, "God said to forgive his son."

Shoffner replied saying, "God told the man to kill his son," and slammed the child's head into the wall at least five times, the police said.

The authorities narrated that the girl was kicked and abused by her mother each time she incorrectly recited a Bible verse or gave a wrong answer.

Shoffner allegedly ordered the girl to lie down on the floor on her back and started strangling her. As the girl tried to fight her off, Shoffner bit her twice in the arm and shoulder.

"Just leave and don't ever come back," the mother shouted. The victim ran from the house and called her father, who took her to the police station.

Shoffner, who is a member of several Christian Facebook groups, had a run-in with the law earlier this year when her neighbors reported a loud domestic dispute.

When the authorities knocked on her door announcing themselves as the police, Shoffner leaned out the window half-naked and told them to leave. She gave them the middle finger and said that if they came through the door, she "got something for us," the police said.

Following the incident, the police charged her with open lewdness and disorderly conduct. Shoffner is scheduled to appear before District Judge David Judy on March 29 for the preliminary hearings on both sets of charges. She is currently in jail on a $100,000 bond.