CLAYTON, Mo. — A woman is facing multiple neglect charges on accusations that she subjected a child to unnecessary medications, treatments and procedures across several states for more than a decade.
Patricia Lacoss-Arnold, 49, of unincorporated St. Louis County, was charged Tuesday with seven counts of felony child abuse or neglect against a 12-year-old child whose care she was responsible for.
According to a probable cause statement from the St. Louis County Police Department, Lacoss-Arnold had faked the child's medical problems and subjected them to chronic and repeated medical treatments and hospitalizations since 2009.
Since 2019, the child had more than 60 doctor or hospital visits and 14 emergency room visits. In medical documents, doctors expressed concern that Lacoss-Arnold sought care for the child in at least six states, with a pattern of seeking care from multiple specialists within different hospital systems and reporting false results and diagnoses to those specialists.
Police allege that her distortion of the child's medical conditions caused them to be subjected to harm from unnecessary diagnostic tests, radiation exposure, blood testing, surgeries and medications.
The child underwent several unnecessary invasive procedures, charges said, including a Mitrofanoff procedure to create a stomach tube and a MACE procedure that placed a catheter through the child's abdomen.
"These procedures have resulted in protracted loss of use for various functions of the body," documents said.
Lacoss-Arnold is also accused of misrepresenting the child's medical history to deviate from standard protocols. In one instance she said the child needed a PICC line to receive medications because oral medications would cause an allergic reaction.
Medical doctors determined she lied about the allergy, charges said.
The child has not attended schooling or adequate homeschooling and was left without the opportunity to "develop and function at an age-appropriate level."
"This isolation from schooling programs has resulted in the victim suffering mental injury," charges said.
Additionally, the child suffered "serious emotional injury" from years of unnecessary medical treatment, hospital visits and social isolation, charges said.
Lacoss-Arnold's bail was set at $250,000 cash only. As of Wednesday, she wasn't in custody.
