By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 26-year-old former Alabaster resident who has been charged with allegedly causing brain damage to her infant son pleaded not guilty to the charge on Dec. 1.

Caitlin Gregory Lunceford, who lists an address in the 6900 block of Harpers Dairy Loop in Bessemer and who previously listed an address in the 500 block of Windsor Court in Alabaster, entered a plea of not guilty to one count of aggravated child abuse on Dec. 1, according to court records.

A Shelby County grand jury returned a one-count indictment of aggravated child abuse against Lunceford during its October term. Lunceford is now scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing on Feb. 2, 2015.

According to Lunceford’s indictment, she allegedly maltreated her infant son, who was about 2 months old and in Lunceford’s care at the time of the incident by “striking and/or hitting and punching and/or shaking the victim.” Lunceford’s arrest warrant claimed she caused “brain damage” to the infant during the Jan. 11 incident.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Lunceford on Jan. 23 and charged her with aggravated child abuse, a Class B felony.

In February, Lunceford requested a previous court order denying her contact with her child be lifted, and requested she be allowed supervised visitation for one hour three nights per week. According to court documents, Reeves was scheduled to rule on Lunceford’s request to lift the no contact order, but as of Oct. 30, no ruling had been entered on the matter.

Along with the order requesting supervised visitation, Lunceford’s attorneys, Barry and Lara McCauley Alvis, also filed the results of a polygraph test Lunceford took on Feb. 19 with Sprayberry Polygraph Investigations.

During the test, the polygraphist, Jesse Sprayberry, asked Lunceford if she caused any of the infant’s injuries, if she deliberately injured the child in any way or if she ever lost her temper and injured the child. Lunceford answered “no” to all three questions, according to Sprayberry.

In a motion filed on Sept. 15, Lunceford’s attorneys, Barry and Lara Alvis, again requested Lunceford be granted supervised visitation with the child, claiming “The failure of the child to spend time with its mother can create significant long-term adverse consequences with the child.”