Jackson pleads not guilty, lawyer says her children are lying

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland mother facing multiple charges of child endangerment and abuse appeared in court Tuesday morning and pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Talthina Jackson, 37, is accused of beating her 15-year-old son and abusing her 14-year-old son in their Crennell Avenue home.

During Jackson's pre-trial hearing, her attorney John Lemieux said that the children are lying about all of the allegations.

Jackson faces 12 counts of child endangering, felonious assault, domestic violence and aggravated menacing, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Spokesperson Ryan Miday.

According to Miday, on Aug. 14, Jackson caught her 14-year-old son on a computer in her bedroom and thought he was stealing from her. She then hit him with her keys, choked him, hit him with an aerosol can and then hit him over the head with an iron.

“Police were called to this home after a 14-year-old boy ran out of the house, blooding and looking for help. He ran to a neighbor’s house and that neighbor called police,” assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor Jeffrey Schnatter said.

The 15-year-old also has multiple scars over his body from being beat with a pole by Jackson, according to Miday

Jackson’s 8-month-old daughter was present during this incident, which resulted in another count of child endangering.

According to Miday, Jackson’s 14-year-old son was abused from January to August.

Reports said Jackson locked her 14-year old son in his bedroom for so long he had to urinate out of the bedroom window and defecated in the closet, for fear of being hit for leaving the room. When Jackson came into the room and discovered the feces, she made him eat it and gave him a plastic bag to vomit.

In another incident, prosecutors said she thought the boy had urinated on plastic that was laid out to paint, so she made him lick it up. Miday said it was actually cat urine.

Another time, Jackson got angry at the boy for feeding the cats before her, so she made him eat the rest of the cat food. He vomited in a bowl, which she made him eat as well, according to Schnatter.

Jackson was arraigned on Sept. 8 and is now free on $35,000 bond.

Jackson's two teenaged sons and her 8-month-old daughter are now in foster care.