California mom arrested after allegedly abusing 2-year-old on Delta flight from Mexico

A Sacramento, California woman was ordered to be detained on Monday after she allegedly abused her 2-year-old child while on a flight from Mexico to Seattle.

The mother was arrested at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after several witnesses said they saw her abusing her child while on the Delta Air Lines flight 1922 on May 1, according to the news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Washington.

Passengers said the child at one point woke up their sleeping mother, prompting the mom to kick the child who was sitting in the window seat. Another passenger told investigators the woman was seen "shaking the child like a ragdoll." And witnesses said when a passenger confronted the woman about her behavior, she told them to mind their own business, according to the criminal complaint filed May. 2

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After the flight landed around 6:04 p.m. a member of the Civil Aviation Security Program (CASP) and the Seattle Police Department were called to the scene. The woman was then detained by Customs and Border Protection. A member of the CASP noticed bruises on the eye, cheek, shoulder and forearm on the child. When asked about the child’s bruises, the suspect said that they were caused by a dog a week prior, the complaint said.

While in police custody the suspect was overheard saying that she wanted to call her mother, but the woman also said her mother would laugh and she’d say, “wait until someone sees you do this in public.”

The child has been taken from the mother’s custody and Child Protective Services has been involved with placing the child with a relative, the news release said.

USA TODAY reached out to the FBI and the Port of Seattle Police Department for comment but did not hear back during the time of publication.

The California mother has a previous record

According to the criminal complaint, in 2018, the mother was arrested in California on allegations of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.

In more recent charges filed in California on Dec. 10, 2023, the woman was accused of:

• Burglary
• Conspiracy to commit a crime
• Child abuse with the possibility of injury or death
• Resisting a public peace officer

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.