ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis County woman was sentenced to probation on Thursday after she admitted to falsifying her child’s medical conditions for nearly a decade.
A judge sentenced Patricia Lacoss-Arnold, 53, to three years of supervised probation on Thursday, shortly after she pleaded guilty to six assault charges, according to online Missouri court records.
Investigators say the victim was repeatedly subjected to unnecessary medical care under Lacoss-Arnold, putting the victim at risk of serious physical and emotional injury.
According to original charging documents obtained by FOX 2, the victim has been subjected to chronic and recurrent medical treatment and hospitalizations since 2009. From 2019 to 2020, the victim had more than 60 doctor or hospital visits and 14 visits to emergency departments.
Original charging documents state that Lacoss-Arnold sought care through multiple specialists, reported inaccurate results and diagnoses to medical specialists and made specific requests for medications without confirmed diagnoses.
Medical experts say the victim underwent unnecessary procedures for radiation exposure, blood testing, and surgical interventions, in addition to two invasive abdominal procedures. Experts says some procedures resulted in protracted loss of use for various body functions.
Per charging documents, the victim has been isolated from schooling and has not had an opportunity to develop and function at an age-appropriate level as of 2020.
One criminal charge was dismissed against Lacoss-Arnold prior to her probation sentence. She pleaded guilty to three felonies of second-degree assault and three misdemeanors of fourth-degree assault.
The sentence also prohibits her from having any control over the victim’s future medical treatments, per Missouri court records.
