An Alabama mother is facing charges of domestic abuse and reckless endangerment after a video appearing to show her and a friend using drugs was posted on Facebook.
Lauren Englett, 18, was arrested on Monday by the Mobile County Sheriff’s office after the video went viral before Englett took it down.
“What’s disturbing is a mother using drugs, ignoring the child walking around what looks like a balcony of a residence which I believe the deputy said is 4 feet off the ground so the child could have fallen,” Lori Myles with the sheriff’s office told WALA.
Englett’s two-year-old boy was placed into the custody of the Department of Human Resources.
The department was made aware of the video in December 2015, and took the child away from the mother and placed him into the care of a family member. But after the video went viral, the department performed another home inspection and found that the child still had contact with his mother, Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Nikki Patterson told WPMI.
The video appeared to show Englett and friend Jamie Jemison using drugs. Warrants for Jemison and Rachel Rikard, who allegedly filmed the video, have been issued--they both face reckless endangerment charges.
The boy’s father Thomas Glatfelter and the boy’s paternal grandmother Tina Hanke both want custody of the child.
“She should have done a better job getting my child out of the situation you know, but thank God she did record it. I’m thankful for that because now people are noticing,” Glatfelter said.
“It’s heartbreaking. Half of the time I don’t even know if he’s safe. We don’t know anything,” Hanke added. “The video is the only hard evidence we have. I want her to be a good mom. I want her to go to rehab and get help. I pray for her.”
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