Mum 'shaved head of girl, 7, to fake she had cancer' as she raked in donations
A mother has been accused of running a donations scam by claiming her daughter had cancer with the shameless woman even shaving her child's head.
Cops say the mum was raising money to benefit "her daughter's journey" by allegedly claiming that her seven-year-old daughter, Addey Rae, had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia along with other conditions. The deception raised thousands and the woman even posted heartbreaking photos of her child's treatment online.
Pamela Reed, 41, was charged on Monday with theft by deception after her child's elementary school nurse discovered that Addey was not blind in her right eye like Reed claimed. The nurse then gave officers at the Noble County Sheriff's Office a tip-off, which sparked an investigation.
The mum from Ohio also claimed her daughter had frequent seizures and would need to have a 'port' – that allows patients to receive drugs instead of through needles – fitted into her body for her cancer treatments.
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The Facebook page for Addey has been up on the site since October 2017, when the child was around 20 months oldShe then went a step further and had her daughter's head shaved, encouraged medics to give her constant blood tests and caused her child to miss more than 280 hours of school, officers said.
The sheriff's office said: "After obtaining information, Sheriff Mackie, along with Detectives and Children Services began an investigation into the allegation, they were able to confirm that the child did not have cancer."
The school nurse called Addey's primary doctor, who referred to the child as "AR", and confirmed that she "did not have cancer or leukemia, and she never had cancer or leukemia". It has not yet been established why other medical staff did not notice the child's actual health status.
Reed's pictures of her and her daughter Addey were emotionalHowever, a stack of documents the mum sent in to the school to show that her daughter had cancer were all false. Reed later admitted she would take other prescriptions and repackage them in boxes meant for cancer medication and that she got Addey to take anti-seizure drugs.
She also claimed her daughter suffered from Severe Aplastic Anemia – a disease affecting bone marrow where not enough blood cells are made for the body. It is unclear if that disease was also falsified. The mother told authorities she continued to carry out the scheme "because she liked the support given as a result".
Reed received around £6,200 ($8,000) by a local organisation "to aid cancer treatment expenses", detectives allege. The mum also created a public Facebook page called "Our 'Rae' Of Sunshine – Team Addey Rae", where she posted heart-rending images of Addey during her "cancer journey".
The page has been up since October 2017, when the child was around 20 months old. Reed would also post fundraising links and flyers that said "All proceeds to benefit Addey's journey". Most of the most recent posts have now been taken down but one from April showed a pile of blood-filled vials and Addey on her stomach as she got an ultrasound on her back.
The mum posted heart-wrenching pictures to FacebookThe post read: "Our baby girl is one of the strongest little gals on this planet! 22 tubes of blood today and ultrasounds.....she was so brave through it all...Miss Addey, mommy, daddy and her sisters are so ready for this nightmare to be over!" Investigators claim the donations were going directly to Reed.
The alleged fraudster, from Pleasant City, Ohio, was taken to Noble County Jail where she originally tried to lie to investigators before she admitted "she had exaggerated and fabricated medical conditions to receive monetary donations".
Reed's husband has not been mentioned in any records and was not present at the time of the arrest, according to Law & Crime. It's unclear if he was aware of the alleged deception. However, the scam has resulted in all of couple's children being taken away over "concerns for their safety".
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Theft by deception is a fourth-degree felony and Reed's bond was set at £39,000 ($50,000). Nobel County Sheriff's Office said: "We are extremely proud of the Children’s Services staff along with law enforcement collaborative efforts to quickly act for safety these children. Child abuse and neglect isn't always cut and dry. If you as a professional or as a member of our community feel like something just isn't quite right, don't hesitate, make the report. The grit and devotion of this team is inspiring."
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