Two Twentynine Palm residents arrested for suspected child abuse
Two Twentynine Palms residents were arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and mayhem after a lengthy investigation.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Crimes Against Children Detail began an investigation into allegations of child abuse on December 17, 2024. Detectives identified the suspects as Christine Curington, 31, and Justin Surs, 34, both residents of Twentynine Palms.The abuse is alleged to have occurred between July 1, 2018 and November 6, 2024 in Twentynine Palms. The complaint filed by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Curington and Surs dismembered a child in their custody, as well as put out the child’s eye, disfigured the child’s tongue, and cut the child’s nose and ear.
As the Sheriff’s Department investigation concluded, Curington was arrested on June 26 on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. Curington was employed at a business on the base, and was not enlisted in the armed forces.
Surs was arrested on July 7 just before 9:00 a.m. at the Bob Burke Government Building in Joshua Tree. The Sheriff’s Department did not clarify why he was at the building, though court records show he was facing charges related to driving without a license and failing to appear in court. Z107.7 has reached out to the Sheriff’s Department for clarification on his arrest.
Court records show that Justin Surs was arrested on suspicion of driving on suspended license and failure to appear in court, though he was arraigned in San Bernardino County Superior Court on three felony charges related to child abuse and mayhem on July 7. He pled not guilty to the charges.
Christine Curington was arrested on suspicion of mayhem, child abuse, and inflicting great bodily injury. She was arraigned in San Bernardino County Superior Court on July 1, and pled not guilty to three felony charges.
UPDATE 12:34 p.m.: An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated that the victim’s eye was removed. The specific language used by the District Attorney’s Office was that the eye was “put out.”
