Texas Mother Punishes 3-Year-Old By Dangling Him From Third-Floor Balcony

A Texas woman has been accused of punishing a 3-year-old boy by holding him over a third-floor balcony.

Desirae Marie Korus, 25, was arrested Wednesday night on charges of child endangerment with the risk of bodily injury. The incident happened Monday at an apartment on the South Side, San Antonio.

The incident was reported by a special agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) while he was conducting surveillance at the complex. The agent, who was sitting inside his unmarked vehicle, heard the sound of a woman shouting and a child crying.

He then saw the woman dragging a toddler to the balcony of the apartment and scolding him. She then picked the toddler up, held him over the ledge and yelled “are you going to touch that again?” according to the arrest affidavit, reported local news outlet KSAT.

The child was heard crying in fear from the balcony. He was pleading to his mother not to drop him as she dangled him over the balcony 35 feet above the ground.

She threatened to drop him while she held him over the ledge. “Don’t drop me, no, no I won’t do it again,” the baby screamed. The woman then held him for several more minutes before pulling him back and allowing him to go inside the apartment, reported local news outlet My San Antonio.

The agent got out of his car and went up to the apartment and got the unit number. The agent then reported the incident to San Antonio police. They arrived at the address but the woman refused to answer the door.

The officers later identified Korus through her listed address. The DEA agent verified from a photo that she was the woman he had seen on the balcony.

Korus was booked into Bexar County Jail with bail set at $20,000.

The U.S. law defines Child Endangerment as any act or omission that renders a child to psychological, emotional or physical abuse. A person that causes a situation that may produce danger, injury, death or similar issues towards a minor, is considered as child endangerment. The person can also be charged with child endangerment even if the actions did not directly harm the child. The charges often result in sentencing of one year with maximum sentencing of six years.