The mother of a 6-year-old adopted child is currently facing charges after she reportedly forced the child to undergo hundreds of surgeries that the child did not need.
31-year-old Sophie Hartman was charged with assault on a child in the second degree and domestic violence in May.
Prosecutors say despite the child being relatively healthy, Hartman made her undergo 473 unnecessary medical procedures that included everything from feeding tube directly into her stomach, to a hormonal implant and also made the child wear leg braces and use a wheelchair.
During a search of Hartman’s apartment, authorities also found a notebook in which she wrote “When it comes to suffering, I am a compulsive liar/exaggerator.” They also found Hartman searched “cochlear implants Black child,” “how to get paid to take care of member of family with disability,” “making a pretend model of hearing aid,” and “funeral songs,” on her iPad and iPhone.
Authorities were alerted to the situation after the child was admitted to the Seattle Children’s Hospital in February and doctors discovered that she was healthy despite her concerning medical history.
“All the available evidence obtained during the course of her admission suggests [the child] is a healthy young 6-year-old who would continue to benefit from de-escalation of medical support and normalization of her childhood experience,” Dr. Rebecca Wiester, the director of the Seattle Children’s Hospital wrote in the probable-cause documents.
The child who was adopted from Zambia and her sister have been placed in the care of Department and Human services.
Doctors say that since the child has been weaned off of the medication, she has made considerable advancements in her health. The child reportedly no longer needs her feeding tube TNP, wheelchair, or braces.