A Washington mom was charged with second-degree assault on a child and domestic violence after doctors reported she was seeking unnecessary surgical interventions for her healthy 6-year-old daughter.
31-year-old Sophie Hartman put the Black Zambian girl she had adopted through at least 470 medical procedures that she did not need.
Her actions came to scrutiny after she took the child to the Seattle Children’s Hospital last February and sought a 16-day stay for the healthy girl.
The doctors issued a letter to the State’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families describing that the child was at “profound risk” in Hartman’s care.
Among the unrequired surgeries that started in 2016 were the placement of a feeding tube, a hormonal implant, and total parenteral nutrition. She also forced the girl to use a wheelchair and leg braces.
Hartman’s internet search included disturbing queries such as “funeral songs”, “cochlear implants Black child” and “how to get paid to take care of member of family with disability.”
“All the available evidence obtained during the course of her admission suggests the child is a healthy young 6-year-old who would continue to benefit from de-escalation of medical support and normalization of her childhood experience,” Dr. Rebecca Wiester said.
