

The Associated Press





DALLAS - A 22-year-old mother was facing child abuse charges Friday after police say she glued her toddler daughter's hands to a wall, kicked her in the stomach and beat her over a potty training issue.

Joselyn Cedillo, 2, was on life support with multiple internal injuries at a Dallas hospital Thursday, The Dallas Morning News reported (http://dallasne.ws/pKJtEb ). A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press she had no information on the girl Friday.

The newspaper, citing police records, said glue and paint were stuck to Joselyn's palms, and that skin had torn away in places.

Joselyn's mother, Elizabeth Escalona, was crying and hysterical when she called her own mother Wednesday morning from her Dallas apartment, according to police records. The records show that when the grandmother arrived at the apartment, her granddaughter was unconscious on the floor. She took her to the hospital.

One of the girl's brothers said their mother kicked the child in the stomach and beat her with a belt and shoe, according to police records.

Another sibling said she couldn't sleep during the night because she heard her mother yelling and the girl crying. She said Joselyn had been having difficulty with potty training. She said Escalona dragged Joselyn by her feet from the kitchen to another part of the apartment, put glue on her hands and stuck them to the wall.

"This is beyond abuse," said Dallas police Sgt. Brenda Nichols. "This is torture."

A pediatrician said the girl had "severe life-threatening head and internal injuries" and was in a coma, according to police records.

Escalona is being held on $500,000 bond on a felony injury to a child charge that carries a sentence of up to life in prison. Her attorney didn't immediately return a phone call from the AP seeking comment.

Child Protective Services has taken custody of the girl and her three siblings, said agency spokeswoman Julie Moody. She said she could not discuss the family's history with CPS.



