Mother charged with child abuse

The mother whose 20-month-old twin girls were found to have sustained severe physical injuries last month has been charged with multiple counts of child abuse.

Stephanie Gregston, 19, who appeared in Yuma Justice Court on Monday with her attorney, Julie McDonald, was charged with two counts of child abuse and one count of failure to report abuse.

During the brief court hearing before Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, McDonald waived the reading of the formal complaint and entered pleas of not guilty to all the charges. Gregston is currently out of custody on bail.

McDonald also explained to the judge while he was discussing her client's conditions of release that Child Protective Services had placed the children in the custody of Gregston's parents, and that Gregston was living at their residence.

She added that CPS has approved of the situation, saying that her client is not allowed to be with her children by herself, and that her parents must supervise her whenever she is with them.

The judge scheduled Gregston's preliminary hearing for 4 p.m. Feb. 22 in Yuma Justice Court.

According to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, Gregston's roommate reported the abuse to the sheriff's office on Jan. 22, which resulted in an investigation. The investigation determined that Gregston's boyfriend, Jonathan Paulmarsh Rios, 22, who has also been charged in the case, was alone with the twins at the time of injury and that Gregston never reported the abuse.

The two girls were taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center and subsequently flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital for multiple bruises and contusions on their heads, torso and pelvic area. One of the two also suffered a broken collarbone and bleeding on the brain.