Snakebite Mom Faces Child Abuse Charge: Video

SEBRING, FL — A 34-year-old Sebring woman faces a possible child abuse charge after the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office finished its investigation into a video that surfaced on Facebook. That video showed the woman’s 1-year-old daughter being struck by a red rat snake that her mother allegedly placed in front of her for the sole purpose of letting it strike.

A copy of the video was posted to the woman’s Facebook page and then taken down. The video was later released by the sheriff’s office. It shows the little girl in a walker with the 14-inch snake visible on a tray in front of her. As the baby reached out to touch the creature, it struck her on the right thumb. Laughter from a female is audible on the video as are cries from the child after the strike.

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Chartelle St. Laurent told detectives the encounter was staged and recorded to expose her child to the kind of wildlife readily found on the family’s property, a probable cause affidavit said.

“As she has observed poisonous snakes including coral snakes at the property before, Chartelle St. Laurent elected to take the opportunity of finding the juvenile non-poisonous red rat snake to expose (the baby) to,” the report said.

Detectives also asked about the laughter at the end of the video. She “stated she was just surprised at (the baby’s) reaction to the snake strike.” St. Laurent said there were no marks or injury caused by the strike, the report added.

The sheriff’s office concluded Tuesday, June 6 that probable cause exists to charge St. Laurent with child abuse. The recommendation has been forwarded to the state attorney’s office for review. That agency will make the final decision on whether St. Laurent will be charged with child abuse.

No further information is available at this time.

The video released by the sheriff’s office may be viewed below. Note: Its contents may be disturbing to some viewers.

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Image via Shutterstock