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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman who police say caused serious injuries to her 16-year-old son because she thought he was sexting and looking at porn was charged Thursday with felony child abuse.
Leontine Taft, 39, of Salt Lake City, is facing a count of child abuse, a second-degree felony, for allegedly hitting, choking and biting the teen.
In October, a 16-year-old boy was sitting on a couch watching a movie with his mother while texting a friend on his iPad. According to charging documents, Taft thought her son was sexting and looking at pornography.
When the boy refused to go to his room, Taft dragged him off the couch, kicked him in the ribs and yelled at him, according to charging documents. The teen yelled back.
“(The boy) stated that Taft hit him, choked him, and when (the boy) didn’t go down, Taft picked up a Halloween candle holder and hit (the boy) in the head with it,” the charges state.
Taft also bit the boy’s ear, and the boy bit her arms to get away, according to the charges. The boy received two staples in his head from being hit.
A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued on Thursday.
