DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A woman found not guilty in a case of suspected child abuse was convicted by a jury Tuesday for obstructing that very investigation.
A probe into physical abuse of a child involving 35-year-old Samira Randolph-Ali began in May 2016. Once Randolph-Ali became aware of the police investigation, she reached out to the victim in a phone call and told her to recant the assault allegations, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s release says. An adult overheard the conversation and reported it to the Steelton Police Department.
Randolph-Ali’s attempt to obstruct the investigation was her undoing as two of the three charges, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, were withdrawn prior to jury selection — the child indicated he would not cooperate and refused to get on the witness stand, the district attorney’s release adds. She was later acquitted of simple assault after a victim refused to cooperate and while on the stand recanted her initial statement that she was punched in the eye.
Randolph-Ali reached out to FOX43 News and says she believes police and prosecutors targeted her because of a pending lawsuit against multiple police departments and government entities.
“This investigation has torn apart my family,” Randolph-Ali said. “I’ve lost my home, job and all my savings.” Randolph-Ali said her daughter, who was 17 at the time, was a troubled teenager who falsified an assault story when she took away her iPhone as punishment. “The conversation where the DA’s office said I told my daughter to recant her story never happened,” Randolph-Ali said. “Investigators defamed my character to draw attention away from my lawsuit. Police used my daughter as a tool to hurt me and prosecutors manipulated a conversation after my daughter recanted her allegations.” Randolph-Ali maintains her innocence.
Randolph-Ali is scheduled to be sentenced on October 12.
