BUFFALO, N.Y. — Less than a year after David and Kathleen Jackson were recognized by Niagara County officials as their foster parents of the year, Kathleen Jackson, 50, allegedly told police she beat a toddler placed in her care after she lost her temper as the result of a potty training mishap.
Jackson, of Wheatfield Street in North Tonawanda, faces one count of Assault in the Second Degree (a felony) and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (a misdemeanor) following her arrest on December 19.
Suspecting Abuse
Jackson had been a foster parent for nearly 15 years according to Niagara County Social Services Commissioner Anthony Restaino, who noted that she previously had an unblemished record in that capacity.
In late August three boys, ages 1-5, were placed in Jackson’s care after they had been removed from the apartment of a Niagara Falls couple.
According to the couple, who spoke to WGRZ-TV, it was during a supervised visit with their children that their two-year-old son complained of back pain.
Upon further inspection, they found that his lower body was covered with diaper cream and that there was extensive bruising on his buttocks, backs, and ribs as well as a bruise to one of his eyes.
They provided photos of the injuries to 2 On Your Side.
Restaino told WGRZ-TV that foster parents are prohibited from administering any form of corporal punishment and that the three boys were immediately removed from Jackson’s care, and placed with another foster family.
Police Report Reveals Some New Info
Under the Freedom of Information Law, 2 On Your Side requested the police report and associated materials from North Tonawanda authorities.
In his response, North Tonawanda City Attorney Luke Brown provided some materials, but said that additional documents within the files of the police department would be withheld from the public “as they have been compiled for law enforcement purposes and their disclosure would interfere with law enforcement proceedings or judicial proceedings”.
The materials provided reveal that Jackson provided a sworn statement to police and that her interview with detectives was recorded. Jackson’s husband also spoke with police.
However, while we were provided both the criminal complaint and a narrative of Kathleen Jackson’s interview written by a detective, neither Jackson’s actual statement nor the recorded interview was provided.
Still, the report provides some information not previously reported in our coverage of this story.
- Several days after the child’s injuries were discovered, Niagara County Child Protection worker Pam Stevenson contacted North Tonawanda Police Detective Michelle Day on December 11 to report that a foster mother was suspected of maltreating a foster child in her care.
- According to police, when Stevenson confronted Jackson about the injuries, Jackson told Stevenson she did not know how the child became to be bruised.
- Jackson told Stevenson she was attempting to potty train the boy and would strap him down to a potty chair for 45 minutes to an hour at a time with a cloth belt.
- Jackson told Stevenson that it was possible the injuries might have been sustained in a fall down some stairs.
- North Tonawanda Police Detectives Day and Timothy Bakula then went to Jackson's Wheatfield street home where they spoke to the defendant in an interview recorded on a body camera.
- According to detectives, Jackson told them she initially didn’t even see the bruises on the child, and also showed them the potty chair with the belt attached and the stairs which she said the child might have tumbled down.
- When detectives then confronted Jackson and told her the injuries sustained by the child were not consistent with her explanation she allegedly then admitted that she inflicted the injuries on the child.
- According to detectives, Jackson told them that she had strapped the child into the potty chair and left him unattended in his room. She returned later to discover that he was “playing in his feces” and that “she lost her mind”
- Jackson then allegedly confessed to police that she “picked the child up by his arm and hit him at least 5-7 times on the buttocks but does not remember exactly”.
- Jackson continued to deny causing the injury to the child’s eye and speculated to police that “it was from playing with his siblings”
Jackson then came to police to their headquarters where she made a written statement which was not released with the police report and was subsequently charged on December 19.
