Mom Allegedly Films Herself Sexually Abusing 2-Year-Old Son At Boyfriend's Request

A woman in Montgomery County, Virginia, accused of sexually abusing her 2-year-old son and filming the acts for her boyfriend is set to appear before court this week in what is scheduled to be a three-day trial.

Kayla Nicole Thomas, 27, will face a jury Wednesday on sex abuse and child pornography charges involving her son, Steven Dale Meek II, local newspaper The Roanoke Times reported.

The Christianburg resident and her 27-year-old boyfriend, McKenzie Kyle Hellman, were both arrested in January 2019 following the death of her son earlier that month. Since her arrest, Thomas has been detained in the Western Virginia Regional Jail or Montgomery County Jail.

Meek was abused on Jan. 8, 2019, in the small mobile home that Thomas and Hellman shared in the 400 block of Zinc Lane, authorities said.

Hellman, who was not related to the child, asked Thomas via Facebook to sexually abuse her son if she wanted them to patch things up, according to recorded statements he made to investigators. He claimed they were fighting at the time.

He told investigators that he had previously asked Thomas to pretend to be 12 or 13 during sex and that he wondered how he would feel watching her performing sexual acts with her son. Hellman said that Thomas did what he asked and sent him videos to prove it.

Investigators said the mother sent five videos following the request. Those videos were shown at Hellman’s own trial in March.

Hellman contacted authorities three days after the abuse occurred and told them Meek had been injured in a fall. Medical responders found that the child's heart had stopped but managed to restart a pulse. The boy was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he died two days later.

A Christianburg detective testified at a hearing for Hellman’s case saying Hellman had given several accounts of how Thomas' son got hurt. These included that he had shoved and hit Meek to break up a dispute between the 2-year-old and his own son, and that later, Meek fell out of the bed.

Meek suffered numerous injuries throughout his body, including bruises inside his mouth and rectum and injuries on his anus, torso, right arm and left leg, according to the state medical examiner's office. An autopsy also found bleeding around and within the 2-year-old's brain and optic nerves as well as hemorrhaging inside his spinal cord.

Both Thomas and Hellman were charged with abuse and neglect of children; possession and distribution of child pornography; production of child pornography; and forcible sodomy and object sexual penetration, WDBJ previously reported. Hellman also received an additional first-degree murder charge as well as another count of possession and distribution of child pornography.

Prosecutors said that the alleged abuse would not have occurred without Hellman after his defense attorneys argued that Thomas was to blame for Meek's abuse.

Hellman was convicted in March of five child sex and pornography charges. A judge is scheduled to rule on June 29 whether to follow the jury's recommendation of two life sentences or another sentence. Hellman is also scheduled to stand trial for his separate murder and child abuse charges on Aug. 10 and 11.