Child abuse charges against mom detail whipping, beatings and porn

The accusations are enough to make anybody cringe.

A mother having her three young children watch homemade pornographic videos. Whipping them daily with electrical cords. Punishing them for not shoplifting the proper beverage. Holding a blanket over their heads until they nearly lose consciousness.

Pierce County prosecutors allege Natashia Britt, 28, of University Place, did all of these things to her children earlier this year before losing custody when she went to jail after a DUI incident.

Britt denied all allegations to police.

On Monday, she pleaded not guilty to first-degree child assault, two counts of second-degree child assault and two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

She was ordered jailed in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Prosecutors said Britt might face additional charges because of repeated harassing phone calls made to a family member who now is caring for the children, ages 2, 8 and 10.

Britt has been investigated for child abuse in 2009 and 2013, records show.

She most recently lost custody of her children in July after being arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment and DUI. A family member took charge of the kids and has encouraged them to cooperate with police, expressing concern that Britt will take the children out of the country.

The children were exposed to pornography, including homemade videos, and saw their mother engaged in sexual activity, according to charging papers.

The 10-year-old told police he was punished for stealing the wrong flavor of Gatorade from a store. He described being punched in the stomach and whipped every day with an electrical cord, records show.

The 8-year-old said he’d been hit with a belt that had been held under hot water to make it hurt worse, plus hit with a shoe, book and spoon.

He thought he “was going to die” after his mother held a heavy blanket over his face and once had his hands and mouth taped while being whipped, prosecutors allege.

This story was originally published September 27, 2016 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Child abuse charges against mom detail whipping, beatings and porn."