DEL RIO, Texas – A mother was arrested after officers found a makeup-covered bruise on her 6-year-old daughter, according to the City of Del Rio Police Department.
Around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Del Rio police said officers responded to Ceniza Hills Elementary School after a reported outcry of physical abuse involving a student.
Upon arrival, an officer with the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District told Del Rio police that a female student reported physical abuse by her mother to a teacher, police said.
Officers spoke with the female student, who said her younger sibling, a 6-year-old girl who attends the same school, was assaulted and had an injury to her back. According to police, officers interviewed the 6-year-old, who said her mother had assaulted her.
Police said officers conducted a visual welfare check inside the school nurse’s office and “observed that the child’s back appeared to be covered with makeup.”
“After the makeup was removed, officers observed a large bruise covering a significant portion of the child’s back,” police said.
Officers obtained an arrest warrant for the child’s mother, identified as Nykki Ritacco, 28. Police said Ritacco was found living inside a storage shed in the 1100 block of West Garza Street, along with four additional children.
Ritacco was arrested without incident on a charge of injury to a child/elderly/disabled person, police said. She was taken to the Del Rio Police Department for processing and later transferred to the GEO Correctional Facility pending the magistrate process.
Child Protective Services responded and assisted with the emergency placement of the six children, who ranged in age from 5 months old to 8 years old, police said.
A local physician conducted medical evaluations of the children, recommending urgent medical care for the youngest three children within 24 hours.
Police said an emergency protective order was requested on behalf of the children and their temporary custodian.
CASA of Val Verde County, BCFS and crime victim advocates from the Del Rio Police Department also assisted by providing food, child care, transportation and victim support at the department while the investigation continued, police said.
Read also: