A mother has been taken into custody after being accused of injecting fecal matter into her child’s IV line at a children’s hospital in Ohio.
The incident took place at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, where hospital personnel reportedly observed the mother attempting to introduce a foreign substance into her daughter’s intravenous drip on February 6.
The mother, Tiffany Le Sueur, 35, was placed under surveillance during her visits, following advice from the authorities.
However, as stated in a criminal complaint accessed by the Columbus Dispatch, Le Sueur attempted to inject what was believed to be feces into the IV line on February 8.
At 8:45 pm, a Columbus police officer from the Domestic Violence Unit was contacted by a fellow officer who claimed to have seen the mother carrying a syringe along with what appeared to be fecal matter.
The complaint also indicates that hospital surveillance footage captured Le Sueur entering a bathroom with an empty cup, which she exited with filled with fecal matter.
According to the report, she then drew the substance into a syringe and injected it into the IV line attached to her child’s hand.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that Le Sueur’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 19, after a Franklin County judge set her bail at $250,000.
The Independent notes that her bail conditions prohibit her from having any unsupervised contact with minors.
Nationwide Children’s Hospital emphasizes its commitment to child advocacy and quality care on its website, stating, “We’re committed to providing the highest quality care for patients and whole child wellness, advocacy for children and families, research discoveries and education of patients, families, team members and the community.
“Nationwide Children’s is one of the best children’s hospitals in the country – but it is so much more.”
A spokesperson for Nationwide Children’s Hospital mentioned, “Due to patient privacy, we are unable to confirm or provide information about specific patients.”
According to ARFAA Law Group, introducing feces into an IV line is a critical situation as it contaminates the patient’s supply and introduces bacteria directly into their system.
The most recent nationally reported instance of this nature occurred in 2019, when Tiffany Alberts injected feces into her 15-year-old son’s IV drip in Indiana.
Her son, receiving treatment for leukemia since August 2016, developed symptoms of fever, vomiting, and diarrhea upon release, as per a Marion County police affidavit.
Blood tests revealed a bacterial infection and sepsis, with bacteria linked to feces. Hospital staff monitored his lines and caught his mother in the act of injecting feces.
Tiffany Alberts was sentenced to seven years in prison for her actions.