Greene County woman enters Alford plea for abusing, zip-tying child

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Greene County woman accused of zip-tying a child to a porch swing in 2020 has entered an Alford plea and will be sentenced in March 2025.

Online court records show Rebekah R. Herndon was in court on Dec. 23 and changed her not-guilty plea to an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt, but concedes that enough evidence exists that would result in a conviction.

Under a plea agreement, Herndon pleaded to a charge of endangering the welfare of a child. The other five charges against her were dismissed.

In February 2020, police found a minor at the Connecting Grounds Shelter on Commercial Street. The minor told police that Herndon was his guardian, according to court documents, and that he lived with her and two other people, Jerry Smith and Loretta Dooley.

A probable cause statement said the minor claimed Smith had punched him in the face and zip-tied him to a porch swing because he wouldn't tell Herndon where he was going when he ran away. He also told police that he was zip-tied around his ankles and wrists on the swing and was left there during cold temperatures, documents say. Herndon dropped him off at the homeless shelter the following day.

Springfield Police found cut zip ties on the porch when they visited the minor's address, and Herndon told officers that Smith had tied the minor up because he had been acting up and running away. Herndon later claimed that Smith had tied the minor to the swing without her knowledge, according to documents, but found out about it when Dooley sent her photos.

Court records show that Herndon is due back in court on March 6, 2025, for sentencing.