Alaska's Hot Sauce Mom Found Guilty of Child Abuse
Jessica Beagley forced adopted Russian son to drink hot sauce on Dr. Phil show.
Aug. 23, 2011 — -- An Alaska mother of six has been found guilty of child abuse for forcing her son to drink hot sauce and take cold showers on a taped segment of the "Dr. Phil" show.
Jessica Beagley, 36, was found guilty of one count of misdemeanor child abuse by a jury of three men and three women. She will be sentenced on Monday and could face one year in prison.
A police investigation began after Beagley appeared with "Dr. Phil" McGraw in November of last year, according to court documents. The segment of the show was called "Mommy Confessions."
Beagley told Dr. Phil about her difficulty disciplining her 7-year-old son, Kristoff. Video shot by her 10-year-old daughter showed Beagley at home in Alaska disciplining the boy.
Beagley and her police officer husband adopted twin boys from Russia when they were 5 years old, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The boy seen drinking the hot sauce is one of the adopted children.
"We've tried a lot of different things to punish the kids," she said on the show.
The mom admits to spanking her child and forcing him to do jumping jacks until he's exhausted. During the show, the boy is being punished for getting "three cards pulled," three infractions at school.
On camera, Beagley is seen pouring hot sauce down the boy's throat as punishment for lying. Beagley, leaning over the boy as he sits on the bathroom counter, says, "don't spit it."
The boy can be heard screaming when Beagley forces him to take a cold shower.
"When [he] gets a cold shower, I am at the end of my rope," Beagley said on the show. "Nothing's gotten the results that I want."
Click HERE to see a larger version of the video.
She told Dr. Phil her son is "the biggest stress in my life."
Prosecutors argued that Beagley performed the abuse to get a spot on the show. Her defense team argued that she came on the show in a desperate move to find ways to help her son.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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