A 49-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter in Billings, Montana, have been charged with severely abusing an 18-month-old boy.

Mary Rose Plainbull and daughter Stephanie Jamie Plainbull pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of aggravated assault by accountability. They are accused of beating, burning and restraining the boy, who had been abandoned by his 18-year-old mother.

The boy is currently in critical condition in a Denver hospital. He is suffering from brain swelling, has numerous burn injuries and bruises and bone fractures and may suffer from permanent blindness and loss of hearing.

The boy was left at the Plainbull home by Victoria Plainbull, 18, who is Mary Rose's niece.

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Abused boy likely blinded, prosecutor says (The Billings Gazette 3/3)