Bemidji Woman Charged with Child Endangerment, Assaulting Girl

Nell Rearick (Credit: Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office)

A Bemidji woman is accused of assaulting a child and endangering a child in a situation that could cause harm or death.

66-year-old Nell Rearick is charged with:

• Endanger Child–Situation Could Cause Harm or Death
• Contributes to need for child protection or services
• Domestic Assault

The domestic assault charge is a misdemeanor, and the other two charges are gross misdemeanors.

According to the criminal complaint, on Dec. 9, deputies responded to a home in Bemidji on a report of domestic assault committed by a grandparent against her granddaughter. When they arrived, Rearick told police she slapped the girl across the face when the girl talked back to her, and also grabbed her by the back of the hair and threw her to the ground.

Rearick told police she never gets this mad and didn’t mean to do it. The child told police Rearick has hit her before and that she has lived in the home for several years.

Inside the home, a deputy reportedly found a fresh pile of feces by the front door and was overcome by the odor of urine and feces in the house, which caused his sinuses to burn. The deputy also found black mold in the house, either bed bugs or mold growing on the girls’ bed, and urine stains and a mound of cat feces soaked in urine in another room.

According to the complaint, Rearick told deputies that she is not disabled and is capable of cleaning the house but needs the girl’s help to do so.

Rearick was charged in Beltrami County Court on Wednesday. Her next court appearance is set for Dec. 24. The girl was placed on a 72-hour hold with social services.