Atmore News has learned that the woman identified in last week’s newspaper (Feb. 19 edition) as the wife of 34-year-old Ronald Dewayne Pettway, who allegedly committed aggravated child abuse against the couple’s son, is actually Pettway’s child’s mother, with whom he has been sharing a McRae Street residence in Atmore.
The story pointed out that Pettway had possibly also abused the child’s mother, whose name has not been released by police, and that charges are pending an investigation into those claims. Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks did, however, confirm that Pettway’s legal wife had nothing to do with the charges.
“No charges have been filed yet, and we don’t release the names of victims in a case that’s still under investigation,” Brooks said. “I can tell you that Brittany (Rodriguez) Pettway is in no way involved in this case. She hasn’t filed any complaints against Ronald Pettway, and she is not shown as a victim in the Ronald Pettway case.”
Brittany Pettway said last week that she and the child abuse suspect, who remained in the Escambia County jail at midweek under a $500,000 bond, are in the process of obtaining a divorce. She said Pettway fathered two of her children and had never used violence against any of the three.
“In the time we were married, and since we’ve been separated, he has never had any abusive contact with me or our children, and I’ve never filed any charges against him” she said.