A former Harris County Deputy Constable from Texas has been charged with three accounts of causing injury to children under 15. Xochitl Ortiz is accused of allegedly using her boyfriend’s taser on her three children, aged eight, 11 and 12. The kids, who are safe and survived the incident, are now living with their dad.

The 34-year-old is currently in the process of divorcing the children’s father, who reported the abuse to the authorities. Ortiz’s current boyfriend, Christopher Worthington, who is also a police officer, was sacked days after she was fired for violating the force’s policies. However, Worthington is not facing any criminal charges as of today.

Appearing in court on 20 May 2022, the hearing officer told Ortiz,“The facts allege that you used a Taser to tase each of your children: one on the hand, one on the buttocks, one on the shoulder.” Each of these offences carries a sentence of up to ten year in prison under Texas law.

The attacks are alleged to have taken place between 1 and 4 April this year, but Ortiz’s lawyer, Russell Neumann told KTRK-TV, “I’m just notifying everyone she maintains her innocence. She continues down the path that we’re going to fight this case and she won’t accept anything.” In other words, if these incidents did take place—which is yet to be proven—it remains unclear why Ortiz used an electroshock weapon on her children.

Ortiz’s former boss, Constable Mark Herman released a statement to Houston NBC affiliate KPRC 2 regarding the matter, which read: “On April 14, 2022, my office received a complaint in reference to these allegations and immediately initiated an investigation […] culminating in my office placing ex-deputy Xochitl Ortiz into custody and transferring her to the investigators.”

The former policewoman remains in jail on a $450,000 bond, which, even if met, will not allow Ortiz any contact with her children, her former husband or her current boyfriend. The accused ex-officer will also not be authorised to have any weapon in her possession, including less-than-lethal weapons or any item that resembles a weapon.