An Australian social media influencer was arrested Thursday and accused of poisoning and torturing a one-year-old girl in order to receive thousands of dollars in donations from her followers.
The 34-year-old woman from the Sunshine Coast region has not been named, but Queensland Police said between August 6 and October 15 last year she obtained prescription drugs and had been administered without medical approval to a one-year-old child. daughter, according to a press release issued Thursday. Authorities have not specified the relationship between the woman and child.
Police say the woman filmed and posted videos of the girl while she “was under immense distress and pain,” according to the release. She allegedly used the videos to collect donations from her online subscribers.
The influencer raised around AU$60,000 – US$37,000 – via GoFundMe, according to the BBC. The platform is currently working to reimburse donors following the woman’s arrest.
Medical staff contacted police on October 15 after the child was taken to the hospital in “severe emotional and physical distress,” according to the outlet.
On Jan. 7, police said the child tested positive for unauthorized drugs.
The influencer was charged with five counts of administering poison with intent to harm, three counts of preparing to commit crimes with dangerous things and one count each of torture, manufacturing child exploitation and fraud material.
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“There is no excuse for harming a child, especially not a one-year-old infant who is dependent on others for his care and survival,” Detective Inspector Paul Dalton said in the release.
The woman appeared in court on Friday with her lawyer, Mathew Cuskelly, who requested that she be remanded in custody, The Guardian reported.
“There is some publicity regarding this case and I am concerned for the safety of my client,” Cuskelly told the court.
