An Eagle Butte woman has pleaded guilty to abusing a toddler who was placed in her care by the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

Federal prosecutors charged Wendy Lynn Edna Veit, 34, with child abuse. Federal court documents show she was accused of starving, biting and tying up the 2-year-old girl between Feb. 1 and June 15.

An assistant U.S. Attorney confirmed that Veit admitted to denying the child medical attention for severe scratches and cuts on her face and malnutrition. Veit also admitted she did not get medical attention for the child when she suffered permanent nasal damage after tissue was stuffed up her nose.

Court documents show DSS had put the toddler in Veit's custody under a kinship placement, meaning Veit is somehow related to the victim.

Kinship placements are handled the same way that regular foster placements are handled, according to a spokeswoman for the South Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. Communications director Emily Currey said all foster parents must pass a state Department of Criminal Investigation background check, an FBI background check and a check of the South Dakota Central Registry of Child Abuse/Neglect, which lists any substantiated reports of child abuse.

DSS Secretary Deb Bowman did not return a message Wednesday asking for comment.

Veit could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine when she is sentenced April 11 by U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier. She was released on bond pending sentencing.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Detective Division and the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com