UINTAH COUNTY, Utah, Feb. 10, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman in her 40s for alleged aggravated child abuse — reckless, a third-degree felony, and for surreptitious administration of a deleterious substance, a class A misdemeanor.
The arrest comes after the woman admitted to putting “a pinch” of Borax in her young teen daughter’s water over a period of years, say charging documents filed by the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office.
Gephardt Daily is withholding the mother’s name to protect the privacy of her daughter.
The teen was interviewed in mid-January at the Children’s Justice Center in Roosevelt.
“During that interview, the (teen) stated that she had witnessed her mom putting Borax in their drinking water and that she did it for health reasons, and that it would help her slim down. She described it as a pinch only once a day beginning a few years ago.”
The girl also said her mother “gives her horse pills, but she could not remember the name.”
The teen said her younger brother also drinks the Borax, the charging document states.
The mother reportedly said the Borax, commonly used as a household cleaner and laundry booster, was intended to boost the victim’s immune system.
“Borax is not recommended nor FDA approved for ingestion and has potential negative effects, such as kidney issues, anemia, and seizures in addition to more immediate side effects of nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and rashes,” the probable cause statement says.
On Jan. 22, a Department of Child and Family Services caseworker went to the residence “with her regarding providing Borax to her children,” the arrest document says. “It was reported that (the mother) told them they were uneducated and would not allow them inside the residence.
“During online searches of Borax, it appears that most household containers have warnings of ingestion. For example, ‘if someone ingests or inhales Borax, call the American Association of Poison Control and may be harmful if swallowed. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Borax was banned as a food additive because it is not safe to ingest.'”
A search warrant for the residence was served on Feb. 7. The mother initially “denied providing her children with Borax for ingestion but later stated that there was a time when all other family members were sick with strep throat except for her and her two children,” the charging document says.
The mother also alluded “that the reason they were not sick was due to the Borax ingestion. (She) admitted that she adds Borax to her drinking water to help with inflammation, pain, and weight loss.”
During the search of the residence, multiple boxes of Borax were located, the arrest document says, adding that instructions on the Borax box states “if ingested, call a physician immediately.”
The woman was booked into the Uintah County jail and ordered held without bail.
