Mother Arrested for Punching Son During Anger Management Class
An apparently angry mom's anger-management session was recently cut short, after she allegedly punched her 10-year-old son in the face.
The mom also punched her kid in the "body area" while an anger-management counselor looked on, a police report alleges.
Misty Lawson, 30, of Louisville, Ky., was arrested in connection with assault (child abuse), the website The Smoking Gun reports. Child Protective Services placed her kids in foster care.
It wasn't the first time the anger-management mom's questionable child-rearing skills have landed her in legal trouble.
Misty Lawson was arrested in June after she and a male companion left two children, then ages 9 and 12, unattended in the back seat of a hot car, Louisville's WDRB-TV reported.
Lawson and the man had gone into a supermarket to get their photos taken, she told police. The two were charged with wanton endangerment and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Court records also show Lawson had prior arrests in connection with contempt of court, receiving stolen property, marijuana possession, resisting arrest, and menacing, according to The Smoking Gun.
News reports do not indicate how any of Lawson's past cases were resolved, but her history suggests a court may have had reason to order anger-management counseling. It was the counselor who reported Lawson's alleged child assault Feb. 4.
Lawson says the assault charges have been blown out of proportion. She only "smacked" her son because he called her a "b----," Lawson told The Smoking Gun. "They make it sound like I beat my child like an adult," she complained.
Angry mom Misty Lawson faces a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with allegedly punching her son in an anger-management session. If convicted, she faces up to 12 months in jail and a $500 fine.
Related Resources:
- POLICE: Louisville woman punched child during anger management class (Louisville's WDRB-TV)
- Child Abuse Laws State-by-State (FindLaw)
- Browse Criminal Defense Lawyers by Location (FindLaw)
- Woman Stabbed at Anger Management Class Over Dr. Phil (FindLaw's Injured)