Viewers flag child abuse on TV show

AN ALASKAN mother who sparked a furore when she was seen on the Dr Phil TV show pouring hot sauce into her adopted Russian-born son’s mouth as a punishment has been convicted of child abuse.

Jessica Beagley, 36, was said to have got her 10-year-old daughter to film the footage in order to get on to the chat show.

The segment on the Dr Phil TV show was called “Mommy Confessions”.

Municipal prosecutors filed the charge after homemade video of Beagley’s discipline methods were aired last November.

The footage showed Beagley pouring hot sauce into the seven-year-old boy’s mouth and making him stand in a cold shower as a punishment for misbehaving in school.

The mother-of-six, who is married to a policeman in Anchorage, will be sentenced on Monday.