An Imperial woman is accused of endangering the welfare of two young girls in her care and assaulting one of them, her 1-year-old daughter.

The alleged assault occurred March 25 in a Robinson hotel room where Rainelle Wolfe, 21, of Imperial, was staying with the 1-year-old child and a 15-year-old girl, according to court documents.

The older girl told police that Wolfe became upset because the 1-year-old had soiled herself and the woman slapped the younger girl on the stomach with an open hand, court documents said.

Police said the older girl reported that Wolfe threw the 1-year-old into the room’s bathtub and ran up to 2 inches of water in the tub. When the younger girl began crying, Wolfe pushed the side of her head to the bottom of the tub, “pinning her so half her face was partially submerged under the water,” the court documents said.

The older girl told police that Wolfe held the 1-year-old under the water for between 8 to 10 seconds and yelled for the younger girl to shut up.

When Wolfe allowed the younger girl up, she coughed water from her nose and mouth, court documents said. The 15-year-old girl told police that she cleaned and dressed the 1-year-old after Wolfe exited the bathroom, leaving the younger girl unattended in the tub with water still running.

A woman whom the 15-year-old first confided in told police that Wolfe would leave the 1-year-old and a 2-year-old girl at the woman’s home for days at a time and that the girls would be dirty and smell bad when they arrived. On March 21, the woman and her mother told North Fayette and Findlay police that they could no longer watch the young girls.

Wolfe was placed in Allegheny County Jail after failing to post $25,000 bail. She faces an April 19 preliminary hearing before District Judge Carla M. Swearingen-Batch.

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