A mother in Ohio will avoid spending time in prison after she admitted to trying to poison her infant son by injecting human fecal matter into his IV port while he was hospitalized.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Mark Serrott ordered Tiffany Marie Lesueur to complete three years of community control, as well as to comply with all conditions of her ongoing child services case on Wednesday, August 5.
Lesueur, 35, was sentenced after she pleaded guilty to one count of endangering children in connection to an incident that took place earlier this year.
She was arrested following the incident that occurred at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus. The victim was admitted to the facility on February 6 after he suffered injuries suffered from suspected abuse.
Police have not revealed who they believe abused the child or what his injuries were when he was admitted to the hospital.
During the infant’s hospitalization, a hospital staff member reported that they saw Lesueur use a syringe to inject an unknown substance into the IV port, according to WTVG.
The Columbus Police Department was notified about the incident and they instructed staff to monitor Lesueur’s interactions with the patient during following visits.
Hospital staff also went through surveillance footage two days later and found footage of Lesueur trying to contaminate her child’s IV with a “foreign substance” for a second time, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The footage reportedly captured Lesueur entering the hospital bathroom around 8:45 p.m. on February 8 and she was carrying a specimen cup. The cup appeared to be filled with fecal matter when she was leaving the restroom, according to WSYX.
Lesueur was accused of mixing the fecal matter with a liquid before she used a syringe to inject the concoction into an IV line that was attached to her son’s left hand.
After police obtained the footage, Lesueur was arrested and hospital staff immediately started treating the infant.
Despite confirming her arrest, the hospital has not shared any information regarding the victim’s current condition due to federal privacy laws.
Additionally, the child’s exact age has not been revealed and it’s not known whose custody he was in following his mother’s arrest.
Lesueur’s bond was initially set at $250,000, while a judge also prohibited her from having any unsupervised contact with the victim and other minors.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
