An Ohio mother who was arrested earlier this year after she taped her toddler son to a wall and shared a Facebook Live video of the incident has agreed to a plea deal.
Shayla Rudolph, 19, appeared in Franklin County Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to a single count of attempted child endangerment.
She could face up to 18 months in prison when she is sentenced on December 1.
Mom pleads out: Shayla Rudolph, 19, appeared in court Monday (pictured) and pleaded guilty to attempted child endangerment for taping her young son to a wall in January
Bad parenting: The 19-year-old (pictured above) was arrested after she bragged about taping her two-year-old son to the wall in a Facebook Live video
At the time of her arrest in mid-January, Rudolph was charged with third-degree felony abduction and child endangerment.
The 19-year-old Reynoldsburg resident took the plea deal on the day her trial was scheduled to get under way, reported The Columbus Dispatch.
Police said Rudolph placed clear packing tape over her two-year-old son’s mouth and restrained his arms against the wall with tape for about 15 minutes so she could do housework.
The mother bragged that it was a good way to keep her child from running around, and later filmed another Facebook video taunting people who alerted child welfare officials about the original clip.
Rudolph filmed the first video on New Year’s Day and claimed it was a joke when child welfare officials visited her home on January 5, according to WSYX.
The toddler could be heard crying in the first Facebook Live video, as his arms are held against a wall with clear packing tape. Police also said his mouth was taped shut.
Awaiting her fate: Rudolph faces 18 months in prison, but the judge may decide to give her probation instead when she is sentenced in December
Rudolph claimed the video was a joke when child welfare officials visited her home on January 5. Pictured above, Rudolph is being taken into custody
Rudolph could be seen in the video telling her son: ‘You have the best mommy in the whole wide world.’
She faces the camera and explains her methods, saying: ‘You can’t clean without them running around tearing up? Tape ‘em to the wall.
‘You can’t cook or none of that because they running around? Tape ‘em to the wall.’
She later tells her son: ‘Don’t make me put more tape up there. Now stay still. You can see the TV from right there.’
The toddler, dressed in a diaper, continues crying in the background.
Days after the Franklin County Children’s Services appeared on Rudolph’s doorstep, she posted another video, expressing indignation about the visit.
In another Facebook Live video, Rudolph can be seen disciplining her son by making him stand in a corner.
She says: ‘They called Children Services on me, so f*** it, now he in the corner.
‘Whatcha gonna do now? Call children services now, you can have his a**. I don’t give a f***. This time y’all can take him.’
Rudolph also claimed she could punish her son however she liked, and hang him upside down, FOX reported.
The 19-year-old, who has been out on bail, could potentially avoid prison if the judge decides to give her probation instead.