Woman accused of forcing adopted daughter into surgery, treatments
A young mom is facing charges of assault of a child and attempted assault for “medical child abuse".
A woman from Washington state in the USA forced her adopted six-year-old to undergo numerous unnecessary surgeries and more than 470 medical treatments, authorities said.
The 31-year-old woman, named Sophie Hartman, had her adopted daughter wear leg braces and go under the knife for surgeries to install a feeding tube and a tube to flush out her intestines.
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The mom is now facing second-degree charges of assault of a child and attempted assault for “medical child abuse”.
“At no point during her admission were there any findings or reported symptoms to support any of her prior diagnoses,” the charging document, filed May 24, said.
Have a look at the charges below:
Sophie Hartman charging doc... by KING 5 News
In an interview in 2019 with KING 5, Hartman said she had adopted two sisters from Zambia and said one had a rare neurological disorder called alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC).
“I know she’s walking right now but she was like literally paralyzed all day yesterday,” Hartman said.
The child, who has been named C.H. in the documents, was removed from her care in March and was forced to wear leg braces and sit in a wheelchair even though the child didn't need to.
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Investigators reportedly said that they found after a court order that Hartman had done internet searches that included “funeral songs” and “How to get paid to take care of a family member with a disability.”
Watch the video interview below:
Image Credit: Screenshot/YouTube