SACRAMENTO, CA – A Sacramento mother is facing charges after allegedly assaulting her 2-year-old daughter on a flight from Mexico on May 1. According to federal court documents, 33-year-old Breanna Mistler is accused of kicking and backhanding her child after the toddler woke her up during the flight.
The documents reveal that Mistler allegedly shook her daughter violently, yelling obscenities at her, which prompted intervention from other passengers. However, Mistler reportedly turned her aggression towards these passengers, telling them to mind their own business.
This is not the first time Mistler has been charged with child endangerment. In December, she was accused of involving her daughter in a burglary at her mother’s home and damaging her mother’s vehicle.
Upon landing in Seattle, Mistler was arrested and subsequently charged with misdemeanor assault in federal court. “Even by the horrific standards of child abuse cases, this is shocking,” prosecutors wrote in the criminal complaint. “It is also the second time in six months that Mistler was charged with endangering her child.”
Customs and Border Protection officers detained Mistler at the airport and found multiple bruises on the toddler, according to a press release from federal prosecutors. The investigation is being handled by the Port of Seattle Police and the FBI.
The child was initially cared for by a victim witness specialist before Child Protective Services placed her with a relative. The presiding judge ordered Mistler to be held in custody due to the public nature of the assault. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 16.