A Tennessee judge has dropped criminal charges against a mother who allegedly live-streamed herself abusing her 1-month-old daughter on Facebook Live.
Judge Alex McVeigh dismissed charges of aggravated child abuse or neglect, resisting arrest or obstruction of a legal process, and disorderly conduct charges against Tybresha Sexton, 24, after the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office concluded that the footage they reviewed failed to show a criminal offense had occurred. Assistant District Attorney Ben Boyer called the video “disturbing” but said it would be difficult for them to prove neglect because Sexton wasn’t filmed hitting the baby, according to WTVC.
Chattanooga police arrested Sexton late last month after neighbors showed them clips of a 30-minute video that allegedly showed her shaking and smoking near her baby in addition to grabbing her daughter by the arm and dropping her.
***WARNING: The video below depicts child abuse. Please use discretion.***
Sexton reportedly reeked of alcohol and made irrational comments to police. In front of officers, the mother allegedly yelled at neighbors who confronted her that she “didn’t want that f**king baby anyway.”
WTVC reported that Sexton was receiving treatment at a mental health and addiction treatment facility but her medicine was decreased while she was pregnant. It’s unclear what type of medical care she was getting and whether she was undergoing treatment after giving birth.
The news station reported that Sexton’s mother has had custody of the infant since last month’s incident. She will retain legal custody until at least January.
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[Featured image: Facebook video screengrab]
