Anchorage Mom Jessica Beagley on Trial for Child Abuse After Going on Dr Phil w/ Home Video of Her Putting Hot Sauce on 8 yr old Son's Tongue. Found Guilty! / Judge Hands Down Sentence

Jessica Beagley adopted a little boy from Russia… then she tortured him.

There is so much news on this story that I could post an entire page of just news links.

Adopting a child is a very noble thing to do. Adopting twins, even more so. While many people don’t agree that we should be adopting children from other countries while there are so many children here in desperate need of homes, I won’t begrudge responsible parents who do so. There is so much red tape in this country regarding adoptions… I know of at least one woman who was not allowed to adopt here because she has MS, so she adopted overseas. There are some issues associated with adopting children from other countries, which I’ll get into in a minute, but I’m hoping to keep the “adopt American vs. overseas” discussion out of this… that’s not the point of this at all.

This story first came to light when Jessica Beagley
sent a video in to The Dr. Phil Show because she felt she was out of control. Really? I officially nominate this for The Understatement of the Year Award. The video, shot by her 10 year old daughter, showed how Jessica would discipline” her adopted 7 year old son, one of a pair of twin boys the family adopted from Russia at age 5.

Everyone in the audience was appalled, many were in tears after watching what this woman put this little 7 year old boy through. The boy in the video was clearly terrified. No wonder he lied. I think that, for him, it was a case of “you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t”, and he was hoping that, just this once, he could escape the horrendous punishments dished out by this beast who called herself his mother. She was in his face, shouting at him… an adult woman, in the face of a little 7 year old boy, shouting at him. And that wasn’t even close to being the worst of it.

The form of discipline used is known to some as “hot saucing”, in which the child is made to hold hot sauce in his mouth. In the video, she’s heard telling him to swish it around. But, hey, at least she didn’t force feed him Zataran’s spice. Then this poor little boy was forced into a cold shower where he is heard screaming. I can’t stand being cold, and I can stand the thought of my boys being cold even less. I can’t imagine forcing my child into a cold shower, and judging by their dress in the video, the weather wasn’t exactly balmy.

While I would normally commend any parent for seeking help to be a better parent, what this woman did to this child (and most likely his brother and her other children at some point) is monstrous. The things she did to this child can not only cause serious physical and emotional trauma, but at least one of them is a known torture technique.

Here is a family, already with four children of their own, who then chose to adopt a pair of twin boys from Russia. Very noble, right? Only it seems they couldn’t handle the four children they had to begin with.
According to one source, the father, a former service member, admitted to using military disciplinary techniques on his young children. These are techniques used to discipline adults… in the military… and this guy is using them on small children? This “mother” apparently not only did nothing to stop this abuse, but decided to use a few techniques of her own. WTBFH is wrong with these people?

Of course there will be issues with a child adopted from another country. Since this child was adopted at age 5, it’s a safe bet that English is his second language. This would cause added stress to the child, which the adoptive parents should have been aware of in advance. So, not only was this child being brought to a place where the culture is much different than what he was used to, but it probably took him a while to understand what people were saying and to start learning the language of his new home. This would be incredibly stressful for an adult, let alone a child. Being moved in with a new family that he doesn’t know well = stressful. New surroundings = stressful. Most children will act out, test their new parents to make sure they love them unconditionally while trying to find their place within the family. These parents are epic failures.

Watch the video in the first link above… this little boy is clearly terrified of this woman. It breaks my heart to watch, and I wanted so badly to hug that little boy and tell him that everything will be OK. Unfortunately, I think I’d be lying. You see, he and his brother have been left in the “care” of these abominable parents, even though this woman has been charged with abuse and the father admits to using forms of military discipline on small children. I’m completely baffled by this… here they have indisputable evidence that this woman was torturing this boy, causing him emotional distress (and possibly PTSD, among other psychological issues), and possibly even physical damage. And they’ve left this boy and his twin brother in the “care” of these people. The moment charges were pressed, all the children in that house should have been removed from their “care”.
This poor adopted boy was only 7 and yet had attempted to murder his "new Mom" multiple times. Unbelievable.
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This case is horrible. It haunts me. Why did this "Mom" want to adopt a child, desperate for a fine and loving home and family.
Why him that was tortured? Was there something in her that enjoyed doing these horrible things to an innocent child?? Why him, and not his twin? What shocks me is that he is still living with the adoptive family.

Alaskan Mom uses cold showers and hot sauce to torture adopted child.
By JESSICA HOPPER
Jan. 30, 2011

Video from the "Dr. Phil" television show of an Alaska mother forcing her son to drink hot sauce and take cold showers prompted a police investigation that has led to charges of child abuse against the mother

Jessica Beagley, a 36-year-old mother of six, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse in an Anchorage, Alaska courtroom today. She was not present at the arraignment. Her attorneys entered a plea of not guilty.

A police investigation began after Beagley appeared with "Dr. Phil" McGraw in November of last year, according to court documents. The segment of the show was called "Mommy Confessions."

Beagley told Dr. Phil about her difficulty disciplining her 7-year-old son. Video showed her at home in Alaska with the boy.

"We've tried a lot of different things to punish the kids," she said on the show.

The mom admits to spanking her child and forcing him to do jumping jacks until he's exhausted. During the show, the boy is being punished for getting "three cards pulled," three infractions at school.

On camera, Beagley is seen pouring hot sauce down the boy's throat as punishment for lying. Beagley, leaning over the boy as he sits on the bathroom counter, says, "don't spit it."

The boy can be heard screaming when Beagley forces him to take a cold shower.

"When [he] gets a cold shower, I am at the end of my rope," Beagley said on the show. "Nothing's gotten the results that I want."

Click HERE to see a larger version of the video.

She told Dr. Phil her son is "the biggest stress in my life."

Viewers flooded the Anchorage Police Department with calls after the show aired, police said. The Anchorage Municipal Prosecutor said in court documents that the behavior in the video violates the municipal code protecting against child abuse.

Anchorage Municipal Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin said that the discipline of the boy was "not reasonable," according to court records.

"The stun - the shock - the acute anxiety can also lead to long term type of Post traumatic stress disorder that we often see in criminals who are incarcerated," said Henry Paul, a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai.

"They're good people caught up in a bad situation," Peter Ramgren, one of Beagley's defense attorneys, said. "Child Protective Services has done a complete investigation and found no evidence of abuse of the other children…if they believed it was a dangerous situation they would have removed the children."

"Nothing Jessica has done is criminal. If you give your child food that has hot sauce on it - maybe they eat Mexican food - does that mean its child abuse," said Bill Ingaldson, another lawyer for Beagley.

Beagley's husband is a patrol officer for the Anchorage Police Department. The family is active in the Mormon church. The couple has four biological children and adopted twins from Russia.

The boy seen on the show is still in his parents' custody.
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Dr Phil link available on U-Tube, transcript on Dr Phil's official site.

Critter, I actually saw this little boy and his monster mom on Dr Phil! I can't even look at the video again because it does make me cry and it's so disturbing. I'm glad that people were outraged and called the Alaska PD or DCF and this person was charged with child abuse as it surely was.
My question is to the Dr Phil Show --> WHY do you do these shows and not inform children's services and or LE in their area? I didn't realize that this Mom was going on her merry way after this program. That's my fault too for not finding out what was done.
That poor little boy probably suffered enough in Russia and then the parents who adopted him, welcomed him in their home then fail him? Oh hell no, this isn't right.

Russians outraged over abused child.
By JESSICA HOPPER
Feb. 4, 2011

Jessica Beagley got in a lot of trouble with the government of her home city, Anchorage, Alaska, after she appeared on the "Dr. Phil" television show last month, charged with child abuse after she was seen forcing her adopted Russian son to drink hot sauce and take cold showers.
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Now she is in more trouble – this time with the government of Russia.

"This is the not the first case of the cruel attitude of adoptive American parents towards Russian kids," Yevgeniy Khorishko, the Russian Embassy's press officer, said. "We are in contact with the U.S. officials regarding this case."

Beagley, a 36-year-old mother of six, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse in an Anchorage courtroom last week. She was not present at the arraignment. Her attorneys entered a plea of not guilty.

A police investigation began after Beagley appeared with Dr. Phil McGraw in November of last year, according to court documents. The segment of the show was called "Mommy Confessions."

Beagley told Dr. Phil about her difficulty disciplining her seven-year-old adopted son.

"We've tried a lot of different things to punish the kids," she said on the show.

Video shot by her daughter shows Beagley at home in Alaska with the boy. As a punishment for lying, she pours hot sauce down the boy's throat. He can be heard crying when she forces him to take a cold shower.

Click HERE to see a larger version of the video.

Beagley and her police officer husband adopted the boy and his twin brother when they were five. They went through a group called the Alaska International Adoption Agency in June 2008.

Officials from the Russian Consulate in Seattle visited the home in late January. For now, the adopted boys are still at the home pending the outcome of the case, Khorishko said.

Relations have been tense between Russia and the United States regarding adoption after several high-profile cases of the mistreatment of children adopted from Russia.

Pavel Astakhov, the Russian ombudsman for children's rights, estimated that 17 adopted Russian children have died in instances of domestic violence in American families since 1992.

Last year, a Tennessee woman put the son she'd adopted from Russia on a plane back to his native country, claiming he was so badly behaved she couldn't raise him.

"There were several cases when a child was sent back to Russia without accompaniment, kids beaten to death, when a parent left a nine-month-old child in a car that was not air conditioned near Washington D.C. and the kid died in the car. There are plenty of such cases, unfortunately," Russian Press Officer Khorishko said.

Currently, the United States and Russia are engaged in negotiations on a bilateral agreement on adoption, Khorishko said.

"We need to sign such an agreement as soon as possible in order to avoid future such cases," Khorishko said.

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raine1953 wrote:Critter, I actually saw this little boy and his monster mom on Dr Phil! I can't even look at the video again because it does make me cry and it's so disturbing. I'm glad that people were outraged and called the Alaska PD or DCF and this person was charged with child abuse as it surely was.
My question is to the Dr Phil Show --> WHY do you do these shows and not inform children's services and or LE in their area? I didn't realize that this Mom was going on her merry way after this program. That's my fault too for not finding out what was done.
That poor little boy probably suffered enough in Russia and then the parents who adopted him, welcomed him in their home then fail him? Oh hell no, this isn't right.

Wonder what Dr Phil's answer to that be? Blows my mind that the show did not do something about this horrible situation THAT MOMENT. What the hell. Wonder if he was reprimanded by LE??

I hope he was! It seems like everything, no matter what the subject is 'all for the ratings'. It makes me sick. I used to like Dr Phil but now no way. More of the same, sensationalizing and he just thinks his **** don't stink.
I don't remember exactly what he said to this Mom, but I bet his butt is covered. I think he put her in touch w/ a counselor but come on, this should have been reported. It was very hard for me to watch.

I guess the adoption laws need to be tightened up in every country.

Zahra Baker's case hit me so hard, that I had even had dreams that I had Zahra away from those "Monsters" and was giving her a good life. Children to play with. Now, where did this come from? I wish it was true.

(I do not mean to imply that Zahra was an adopted child. I sure wish that I could have adopted her though. I thought that I had better clarify my comments.)

I think that case was exceptionally hard on all of us and if you were having dreams about her PFF, then it hit you real hard.
I completely understand what you are saying. It's hard huh?

I saw the video. I was shocked. I did not know he was adopted.
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LM, thanks for posting the link!!!!!

Your welcome critter.

By JESSICA HOPPER (@jesshop23)
Jan. 30, 2011
Video from the "Dr. Phil" television show of an Alaska mother forcing her son to drink hot sauce and take cold showers prompted a police investigation that has led to charges of child abuse against the mother.

Jessica Beagley, a 36-year-old mother of six, was charged with misdemeanor child abuse in an Anchorage, Alaska courtroom today. She was not present at the arraignment. Her attorneys entered a plea of not guilty.

A police investigation began after Beagley appeared with "Dr. Phil" McGraw in November of last year, according to court documents. The segment of the show was called "Mommy Confessions."

Beagley told Dr. Phil about her difficulty disciplining her 7-year-old son. Video showed her at home in Alaska with the boy.

"We've tried a lot of different things to punish the kids," she said on the show.

The mom admits to spanking her child and forcing him to do jumping jacks until he's exhausted. During the show, the boy is being punished for getting "three cards pulled," three infractions at school.

On camera, Beagley is seen pouring hot sauce down the boy's throat as punishment for lying. Beagley, leaning over the boy as he sits on the bathroom counter, says, "don't spit it."

The boy can be heard screaming when Beagley forces him to take a cold shower.

"When [he] gets a cold shower, I am at the end of my rope," Beagley said on the show. "Nothing's gotten the results that I want."

She told Dr. Phil her son is "the biggest stress in my life."

Viewers flooded the Anchorage Police Department with calls after the show aired, police said. The Anchorage Municipal Prosecutor said in court documents that the behavior in the video violates the municipal code protecting against child abuse.

Anchorage Municipal Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin said that the discipline of the boy was "not reasonable," according to court records.

"The stun - the shock - the acute anxiety can also lead to long term type of Post traumatic stress disorder that we often see in criminals who are incarcerated," said Henry Paul, a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai.

"They're good people caught up in a bad situation," Peter Ramgren, one of Beagley's defense attorneys, said. "Child Protective Services has done a complete investigation and found no evidence of abuse of the other children…if they believed it was a dangerous situation they would have removed the children."

"Nothing Jessica has done is criminal. If you give your child food that has hot sauce on it - maybe they eat Mexican food - does that mean its child abuse," said Bill Ingaldson, another lawyer for Beagley.

Beagley's husband is a patrol officer for the Anchorage Police Department. The family is active in the Mormon church. The couple has four biological children and adopted twins from Russia.

The boy seen on the show is still in his parents' custody.

The family adopted the twin boys when they were five years old, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

The boy seen drinking the hot sauce is one of the adopted children. His treatment has sparked further concern about the adoption of Russian children by American families. Last year, a Tennessee woman put the son she'd adopted from Russia on a plane back to his native country, claiming his behavior was so bad she couldn't raise him.

Officials from the Russian consulate visited the Beagley's home, Ramgren said.

"He has been to Beagley's house, been through the house and told me that he thinks they're a good family. He does not want any kids removed from the home home…They're good people and the kids should remain with them," Ramgren said.

Beagley's next court date will be in March. Messages requesting comment from the "Dr. Phil" show were not immediately returned.

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Mom on trial for punishing child with hot sauce
MARY PEMBERTON, Associated Press
Updated 05:56 p.m., Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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Jessica Beagley appears in court on the first day of her trial in Anchorage, Alaska, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011. Beagley is charged with misdemeanor child abuse for her methods of disciplining her 7-year-old adopted son from Russia. THE MAT-SU VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN OUT Photo: The Anchorage Daily News, Marc Lester / AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Jurors on Wednesday watched video of a woman squirting hot sauce in the mouth of her adopted son and then making him stand in a cold shower in a case that caused a public uproar in Russia after it aired on the "Dr. Phil" show.

Jessica Beagley, of Anchorage, is charged with misdemeanor child abuse. Beagley's lawyer said she was punishing the 7-year-old boy from Russia because he misbehaved in school and then lied about it.

Beagley used unusual methods because more traditional forms of punishment had not worked with the boy, attorney William Ingaldson said.

Beagley went on the "Dr. Phil" show to try and get help for herself and the boy, Ingaldson told jurors. But, prosecutors say, what Beagley did went beyond what would be considered reasonable parental discipline and amounted to child abuse.

She submitted the nine-minute video, made on Oct. 21, 2010, for an episode titled "Mommy Confessions." It shows the 36-year-old mother talking forcefully to the boy in a hallway in the family's home.

"Why did you lie to me? Does it work to lie to me?" she asks the child.

Beagley asks the boy what happens when he lies. "I get hot sauce," the crying boy replies.

The video shows Beagley leading the boy into a bathroom, where he sits on the counter next to the sink and she squirts hot sauce in his mouth. "Don't spit it," she says.

"Are lies supposed to be out of your mouth?" she yells, her arms braced on either side of him. When he admits to lying, she allows him to spit out the hot sauce.

She then explains to the child that he is going to get in a cold shower for lying about misbehavior at school: wriggling in his seat and sword-fighting with pencils.

The video did not show the child in the shower, but the boy's screams can be heard.

"Listen to your teacher," she says. "You are to do what you are told."

Viewers contacted Anchorage police after the "Dr. Phil" episode aired last November.

Beagley and her husband, an Anchorage police officer, are trying to give two orphans a chance at a better life, Ingaldson told jurors. The Beagleys, who have four biological children, adopted the twin boys after they had been in the orphanage for three years.

He said the twins were born to a mother with a drinking problem and a father who was in and out of jail. When Russia investigators caught up with the family, they were living in a shack. The boys slept on shelves in an armoire, he said.

The boys were placed in an orphanage where the mother visited three times before abandoning them, Ingaldson said.

The couple "thought this was their chance to make a difference in kids' lives," Ingaldson said.

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Posted by crimeblog
Posted: August 17, 2011 - 11:56 am
Frame grab of Jessica Beagley on the Dr. Phil show in November 2010.

From Casey Grove at the courthouse --

An Anchorage jury heard opening statements today in the trial of Jessica Beagley, an Anchorage mother accused of abusing her adopted Russian son by putting hot sauce in his mouth and forcing him into a cold shower as punishment for bad behavior.

Beagley, 36, faces one misdemeanor count of child abuse.

Municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin told the six-member jury -- plus two alternates -- that the abuse case centered around videos Beagley sent to the Dr. Phil show.

Beagley wrote in April 2009 to the show, which features licensed therapist Phil McGraw doling out advice on national television, after she saw a segment called "Angry Moms." Beagley was having trouble dealing with behavioral problems with one of the two twin boys she and her husband, an Anchorage police officer, had adopted from Russia.

Producers from the show did not write back until October 2010, asking Beagley if she was still having trouble. They were preparing for a segment called "Mommy Confessions."

"She said she was still angry," Franklin told the jurors.

The producers asked for video footage of Beagley's disciplinary methods. "That led to the making of this video tape," Franklin said.

Detectives would later apply for a search warrant and seize a camera and computer from the Beagley residence, Franklin said.

"You will see some of the videos Jessica Beagley made, including the one that was clipped up, put on 'Dr. Phil' and prompted the calls to (Anchorage police)," Franklin told the jurors.

Beagley's lawyer, William Ingaldson, delivered his opening statement next.

"This case is not about whether Jessica Beagley used a punishment that you or I would use," Ingaldson said. "It's about Jessica Beagley being charged with criminal child abuse."

For the punishment to constitute a crime, prosecutors would have to prove it was done cruelly, gratuitously and with intent to inflict pain, among other criteria, Ingaldson said.

The Beagleys knew about the challenges they'd face by adopting, Ingaldson said. But behavioral issues with one of the boys proved to be far more difficult than they expected, he said.

When Jessica Beagley was contacted by the "Dr. Phil" show, the producers said they needed video of her punishing the kids, Ingaldson said.

"Jessica's response was, 'I'm not going to punish my kids just to get on the show,' " Ingaldson said.

Ingaldson said the producers indicated they didn't want her to punish them just for the show, but that Beagley might keep a video camera handy in case she needed to punish one of the children.

"She didn't know what to do with the kids," Ingaldson said. "She was trying to get help."

This is a developing story.

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I saw that show and I could hardly stand to watch that video! I think what she does to that poor child is cruel and obviously it isn't working because she does it over and over.

That tape and that show on Dr Phil was a desperate plea for help. I too thought it was cruel punishment. So she writes to Dr Phil for help and look at what happened.
I sure hope someone does something to help that little boy.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An Alaska woman was convicted Tuesday of misdemeanor child abuse after squirting hot sauce into the mouth of her adopted Russian son as punishment in what prosecutors said was a ploy to get on the "Dr. Phil" TV show.

..Prosecutors also said defendant Jessica Beagley, 36, of Anchorage made the 7-year-old boy stand in a cold shower when he misbehaved. Both actions were recorded on videotape.

Neither Beagley nor her husband Gary Beagley, an Anchorage police officer, showed any emotion when the seven-person jury announced its decision. The couple walked quickly from the courtroom and down a set of stairs without responding to questions from reporters.

Jessica Beagley could face the maximum sentence of one year in jail, a $10,000 fine and up to 10 years of probation when she is sentenced Monday, said District Court Judge David Wallace. She remains free without bail because the case is a misdemeanor.

Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin also left the courtroom without commenting.

'Dr. Phil'
Defense attorney William Ingaldson said his client was faced with a difficult situation dealing with a child with emotional problems when she reached out to the "Dr. Phil" show for help. If she hadn't done that, she never would have been charged with child abuse, he said.

"It is our feeling Jessica was doing the best she could ... this is a very good, loving family," Ingaldson said.

.He believes the city child abuse ordinance fails to spell out what is acceptable in terms of punishment. For example, under the law it would be possible to convict a parent who put a child in a timeout for what a jury might consider too long, he said.

Ingaldson will request that Beagley receive no jail time. Asked if the children could be taken from the family, he said that could not be done by anybody in Alaska because the Beagleys had already been investigated by the office of children's services, which found no reason to take any action.

In closing arguments Monday, Franklin said Beagley recorded the punishment on Oct. 21, 2010, for a segment of the show titled "Mommy Confessions."

Beagley's defense lawyer countered that she made the video and eventually went on the show because she was desperate to find help for her son, a Russian orphan with psychological and emotional problems.

Beagley was forced to use unconventional means of punishment because traditional methods didn't work, Ingaldson said.

The eight-minute video shows Beagley confronting the boy about misbehaving in school and lying, then pouring hot sauce into the crying child's mouth and not allowing him to spit it out for more than a minute.

The footage also shows Beagley forcing the screaming boy into a cold shower before sending him off the bed.

"There is no reason in the world why someone has to hurt a child to get on a reality show," Franklin said in her closing argument.

When the episode aired, it sparked public outrage in Russia, with some people demanding the boy and his twin brother, who were both adopted by Beagley and her husband, be returned to their native country.

Franklin told the jury it wasn't Beagley's first attempt to get on the "Dr. Phil" show.

Recruited daughter to shoot video
After seeing a segment in April 2009 titled "Angry Moms," she contacted the show but heard nothing for a year and a half, Franklin said.

The show eventually called to find out if Beagley was still angry, she said.

.Beagley then submitted audition videos in which she yelled at the boy, but producers said they needed to see her actually punishing her son, the prosecutor said.

That's when Beagley got the video camera ready, made sure there was enough hot sauce on the shelf in the bathroom and recruited her 10-year-old daughter to shoot the video, Franklin said. Days later, she was headed to Los Angeles to tape the show that first aired on Nov. 17, 2010.

A spokeswoman for the show, Stacey Luchs, declined to comment to The Associated Press after closing arguments Monday. The show previously provided an evaluation of the boy and counseling.

Beagley and her husband had tried more traditional means of punishment, such as timeouts and television restrictions, but none of the tactics worked with one of the twins, who did such things as urinating on the floor, Ingaldson said. More recently, the boy has been diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder and is in therapy.

In his closing arguments, Ingaldson encouraged the jury to look closely at other footage submitted to the show in which Beagley coaches the children on not getting into trouble and reminding them of what happens if they do.

"She is not trying to get these kids to misbehave. She is trying to do the opposite," Ingaldson said.

The Beagleys, who have four biological children, adopted the Russian boys in 2008.

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Alaska woman in hot sauce case spared jail time
APBy DAN JOLING - Associated Press | AP – 3 hrs ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska woman convicted of punishing her adopted Russian son by squirting hot sauce into his mouth was spared immediate jail time on Monday.

Thirty-six-year-old Jessica Beagley was given three years of probation, a 180-day suspended jail sentence and a $2,500 fine — also suspended — after she was convicted last week of misdemeanor child abuse. Prosecutors said she used a videotape of herself punishing the 7-year-old boy as a ploy to get on the "Dr. Phil" TV show.

Beagley submitted the eight-minute tape for a show segment titled "Mommy Confessions." She said the boy had lied about getting into trouble at school.

After squirting hot sauce in the boy's mouth for lying, she also punished him with a cold shower.

Prosecutor Cynthia Franklin rejected the contention that Beagley was trying to get help for her son through the television show. She said Beagley was experienced at setting up counseling sessions. The punishment of the child on tape, she said, was a gratuitous act aimed at getting herself on television.

"Jessica Beagley did not have to make this video and did not have to do this to her son," Franklin said.

Franklin recommended a sentence of 360 days and a requirement for Beagley to serve 30 days behind bars as a deterrent to other parents.

With her husband, an Anchorage police officer, at her side, Beagley said it was her most important job to love and nurture her children, and that being a good mother to her meant teaching children right from wrong.

"I would ask that the court would allow me to be that mother that I would like to be, to not disrupt the lives of my children any more than has been already," she said.

Noting the seriousness of the offense, District Court Judge David Wallace rejected a request by Beagley's attorney for a suspended imposition of sentence, which could have allowed Beagley to have her conviction erased.

"It was a premeditated, gratuitous act," he said.

But he declined to assess jail time or a fine, noting the family likely would need money for future counseling sessions. Beagley had faced a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Beagley and her husband adopted the boy and his twin brother in 2008. The boys were 5 years old at the time and had spent three years in an orphanage.

Before that, their family had lived in a shack and the twins slept on shelves in an armoire. One twin adjusted to his new home in Alaska, but the other exhibited behavioral problems that included lying and urinating on the floor.

Beagley's attorney said his client turned to unconventional forms of punishment when spankings, time-outs and restricting television were ineffective in changing the boy's behavior.

Defense attorney William Ingaldson contended Beagley had reached out to the "Dr. Phil" show for help. The incident that sparked the videotaped punishment occurred at school.

The boy got in trouble for sword-fighting with pencils, and, his mother said, lying about it. Beagley recorded the punishment on Oct. 21, 2010.

During the trial, Franklin told the jury it wasn't Beagley's first attempt. After seeing a segment in April 2009 titled "Angry Moms," she contacted the show but heard nothing for a year and a half, Franklin said.

The show eventually called to find out if Beagley was still angry, she said. Beagley submitted audition videos in which she yelled at the boy, but producers said they needed to see her actually punishing her son, the prosecutor said.

That's when Beagley got the video camera ready, made sure there was enough hot sauce on the shelf in the bathroom, and recruited her 10-year-old daughter to shoot the video, Franklin said.

Days later, Beagley was headed to Los Angeles to tape the show that first aired Nov. 17. The episode sparked public outrage in Russia, with some people demanding the boy and his twin brother be returned to their native country.

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