Woman sentenced to prison for contaminating son's IV in Ohio

By Kim Palmer

(Reuters) - A mother pleaded guilty on Wednesday to child endangerment and was sentenced to six years in prison for injecting feces into her son's intravenous bag at a Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital, prosecutors said.

Candida Fluty, 35, a West Virginia resident, was seen on a hospital security video in January injecting something into the IV bag of her son, then age 9, causing him to run a fever. Authorities later found evidence of fecal matter in the solution.

Fluty's son was being treated for Hirschsprung, a congenital medical condition that affects the bowels.

Fluty was charged in Hamilton County with two counts of felonious assault and two counts of felony child endangerment. She pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment in an agreement with prosecutors, the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office said.

Prosecutors say Fluty may suffer from Munchausen by proxy syndrome, in which a caregiver fabricates a medical problem for someone in their care.

"We are satisfied with the plea and sentence," Chief Assistant Prosecutor Julie Wilson said. "Our concern was for her child and we hope that he is doing well."

Fluty could have been sentenced to up to eight years in prison if convicted on all four counts.

Hamilton County Judge Jerome Metz ordered Fluty to report to prison in a week.

Fluty's son is living with an aunt in West Virginia, prosecutors said.

(The story corrects headline and first paragraph to make clear woman is from West Virginia and not Ohio)

(Reporting by Kim Palmer in Cleveland; Editing by David Bailey and Eric Beech)