Son Allegedly Beaten With Whip By Mom After He Didn’t Clean Bathroom In 5 Minutes

Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Investigators on Monday, June 28, arrested and charged a Dona Ana County woman with one third degree count of Intentional Child Abuse (No Death or Great Bodily Harm), after she allegedly beat her 13-year-old son with a horse whip and other items when he didn’t clean a bathroom in five minutes.

Sherri Mazzola, 38, of the 700 block of Hayride Road, north of Las Cruces, allegedly beat her son over a two-day period. The victim sustained “welts” to his buttocks, back and legs and a cut to his forehead, where he was struck by the plastic top of a spray can, sheriff’s officials said.

Mazzola, who was incarcerated at the Dona Ana County Detention Center, has since bonded out.

If not for the neighbors noting, inquiring and reporting the suspicious injuries, the incident may have never been brought to the attention of authorities.