Mom Convicted for Inflicting Hot Sauce on Kid

Prosecutors say she abused 7-year-old to get on Dr. Phil
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2011 7:09 PM CDT
Mom Convicted for Force-Feeding Kid Hot Sauce
Jessica Beagley, 36, is shown before court on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011, in Anchorage, Alaska.   (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

An Alaska woman was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse today, after showing off the weird punishments she inflicted on her son on an episode of Dr. Phil. Jessica Beagley, 36, was arrested earlier this year after footage of her squirting hot sauce into her 7-year-old son's mouth and forcing him to take cold showers aired on the show. She could face up to a year in prison and up to a $10,000 fine, the AP reports.

The defense had argued that Beagley "was doing the best she could," and resorted to unconventional punishments because the boy had emotional problems. But the prosecution noted that Beagley had tried to get on Dr. Phil's show before. "There is no reason in the world why someone has to hurt a child to get on a reality show," the prosecutor said in her closing. Dr. Phil himself is quoted in the transcript calling Beagley's behavior "absolutely outrageous. It is over the top, it is abusive." (More Dr. Phil McGraw stories.)

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