Aiken woman charged after alleged attack involving child at restaurant

Jessica Hufton, 36, was booked July 22 in Aiken County on a cruelty to children charge after police said she attacked her juvenile daughter at a McDonald’s in Aiken.

According to a police report, an employee at the restaurant in Aiken called law enforcement after the girl ran into the building and Hufton chased her inside. The employee told police they saw Hufton grabbing at the child’s clothes and hair to try to pull her back to the family vehicle.

The report says the daughter told police her mother had started hitting her while they were still in the vehicle, causing her to get out and run into the restaurant. Police said Hufton appeared intoxicated and that they had been arguing about buying the girl a new cell phone.