Racine mother accused of striking her son with clothes hangers

RACINE -- A Racine mother faces child abuse charges for allegedly striking her 11-year-old son with clothes hangers.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred on Thursday, July 26th at a home on Durand Ave. in Racine. 

The criminal complaint indicates the boy's cousin got pushed down at the home. The mother accused her son of doing the pushing. The complaint indicates she sent the boy to his bedroom and later came down and began striking him in the shoulder with a plastic clothes hanger. When the hanger broke, she allegedly went upstairs, got another hanger, came back to the bedroom and struck the boy some more until it broke. When that happened, the complaint says the woman threatened to get a belt.

Five days later when this incident was reported to police, the child still had bruise marks on his arms.

When questioned about the incident, the complaint says the mother said she struck her son "because he started a fire in the home. She denied using a hanger to strike him. She stated she only used her hands."

If convicted, the mother faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

We're not naming or showing the mug shot of the accused to protect the identity of the victim in this case.

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