Mother beats son for having a Facebook account

A mother beat her son with a computer cable when she found out he had a Facebook account. She was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse.

62-year-old Althea Ricketts has been charged with aggravated child abuse after allegedly beating her son for using Facebook without her permission. The Florida woman first found out about her child's Facebook account after an acquaintance called her to say he had posted a message which indicated he might try to hurt himself, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

An arrest report states that Ricketts called back and told the woman she had hit her son and he'd run away from home. This is in line with a police interview, in which the boy claimed his mother had become angry and had beaten him with a computer cable in their home. He then ran away to a friend's house, where he was later found with injuries to both arms.

The boy, whose name and age were not released, was nervous and crying when he arrived at the friend's house, police were told. When asked, Ricketts reportedly told the resident that the boy "deserved everything he got."

An arrest report said the woman told police the boy had lied to her about using Facebook and that she had become angry and hit him. The arresting officer wrote in the report that Ricketts "stated to me that hitting a child with a cable is a common way of disciplining kids where she comes from."

Ricketts was arrested and booked into the Orange County Jail on Saturday, where she was being held without bail.

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