An Ohio mother is accused of injecting fecal matter into her child’s IV port while the child was hospitalized.
Tiffany Lesueur, 35, of Maumee, was arrested on Monday, Feb. 9, and booked into the James A. Karnes Corrections Center. Online jail records reviewed by PEOPLE show she was charged with endangering a child — torture/cruelly abuse.
Police allege the incident occurred at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, WTVG reported. PEOPLE reached out to the Columbus Police Department but did not immediately receive a response.
Hospital staff first observed Lesueur on video allegedly injecting a foreign substance into her child’s IV port on Feb. 6, according to WTVG, citing a criminal complaint. After that, her visits were monitored, the outlet reported.
On Sunday, Feb. 8, employees told officers they saw footage of Lesueur allegedly entering a bathroom with a cup, later placing what appeared to be fecal matter into a syringe, and then injecting the contents into the child’s intravenous tube, according to the report.
Christie Jenkins, chief executive officer of the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center, told the station that situations like this highlight the importance of children being able to speak up, though she noted the child may not have understood what was happening.
Lesueur has been ordered to stay away from her child and not have unsupervised contact with minors, WTVG reported.
She appeared before a judge on Tuesday, Feb. 10, for arraignment. Her next court date is scheduled for Feb. 19. It is not immediately known whether she has an attorney.
