Thread: Convicted Abuser Might Be Pregnant

Published: Saturday, September 22, 2007

arrested again
Convicted Abuser Might Be Pregnant

By Dana Willhoit
The Ledger

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http://theledger.com/article/20070922/N ... 20455/1039

BARTOW | Tracy McHugh, the Lakeland woman who gave up her two younger children after pleading guilty to aggravated child abuse, has been arrested for violating probation and also may be pregnant, according to Lakeland police

Tracy Mchugh walks into Judge Randall McDonald's courtroom in Bartow on Friday.

McHugh, who was born in Scotland, faces possible deportation as a convicted felon, according to police.

She is being held at the Polk County Jail, and there is an immigration hold on her, which means she can't be released without notifying immigration officials.

Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said she could not disclose whether McHugh is a United States citizen.

However, she said immigration holds are not placed on U.S. citizens.

Chip Thullbery of the State Attorney's Office said he was aware that immigration officials had communicated with the state attorney that they might deport her, but he did not know when that would happen.

McHugh, 38, was convicted for taking her teenage daughter and toddler daughter for hundreds of needless medical tests, insisting they had symptoms that no one else could see, police reports said.

Police say doctors had suspected for years that McHugh suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a disorder in which parents seek unnecessary medical treatments for their children because they thrive on attention.

She also was investigated by police after a family member told them McHugh had buried a baby in the backyard of a home they were living in on Cornelia Avenue in Lakeland.

The baby's remains were found, but the cause of the baby's death could not be determined. McHugh was never charged in that case.

McHugh was released from Polk County Jail on June 3 after serving almost a year in jail on the child abuse charges.

She was arrested Aug. 16 because she did not participate in any mental health counseling sessions, which was one of the probation requirements, said Thullbery.

She came to Polk County court Friday morning, but her appearance was rescheduled for Sept. 28.

Because of the probation violation, McHugh could face up to 30 years in state prison, which is the maximum penalty for aggravated child abuse, Thullbery said.

McHugh took her daughter Heather, who was 18 when her mother was arrested, for medical visits and laboratory evaluations 384 times over a five-year period, according to Lakeland police records.

Her daughter Elizabeth, who was 17 months old when the investigation of suspected child abuse started, had been to the doctor about 40 times.

McHugh also had an infant son who was 8 weeks old when the investigation started.

Both the boy and Elizabeth have been adopted by McHugh's husband's brother, James Roberts, and his wife, Jessie.

Roberts said that when he and his wife first started caring for Elizabeth, she would stick her fingers down her throat and make herself vomit every time she ate.

She had blisters on her fingers, Roberts said. Within a couple of weeks, the blisters healed and she stopped making herself vomit.

Elizabeth also has to wear braces on her legs, because her mother always kept her in a crib or high chair and didn't let her walk, so her leg muscles are undeveloped, he said.

Richard Rose, a Lakeland police detective, said he has heard a recording of a conversation that McHugh had with someone who works for the British Embassy, in which she said she is pregnant.

James Roberts said he couldn't believe it when heard that McHugh was pregnant again.

"Any baby she had would be in danger," Roberts said.

He thinks that, if she gives birth, the infant should be put up for adoption.

Rose, who originally investigated McHugh, said one of McHugh's probation requirements was that she is not allowed to be around children.

If McHugh has another child, Rose said, "the Department of Children and Families would be involved, and they would make the determination as to what would happen with that child."

[ Dana Willhoit can be reached at dana.willhoit@theledger.com or 863-533-9079. ]

Last modified: September 22. 2007 7:24AM

http://theledger.com/article/20070922/N ... 20455/1039

This woman should be "neutered!!!!"