Jessica McClure Morales, also known as “Baby Jessica,” is facing at least one criminal charge after Texas authorities responded to a reported domestic violence incident, arrest records show.
Deputies from the Midland County Sheriff’s Office arrested Morales before 10 p.m. Saturday near the 2100 block of S. County Road 1140 in Midland, according to records obtained by the Midland Reporter-Telegram. She was charged with family violence, assault causing bodily injury.
The offense is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas, typically punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine under the state’s Penal Code. Morales was released after posting an unknown bond amount, the report states.
Morales, now 40, gained notoriety as an 18-month-old child in 1987 after falling down a well in her aunt’s backyard in Midland. Her rescue operation was broadcast nationwide, with authorities working for nearly 60 hours to free her from a narrow well casing roughly 22 feet below the ground.
In the aftermath of her rescue, then-President Ronald Reagan famously stated that “Everybody in America became godfathers and godmothers of Jessica while this was going on.”
The Midland County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to the Express-News’ affidavit request.