Spanking a child in public usually won’t cause too much of a ruckus, unless it’s not your child. Gloria Ballard is accused of swatting a toddler’s behind at an Ohio store on Tuesday.
Court documents state that Ballard was at the Salvation Army store in Cincinnati when she confronted the toddler’s mother, Dannay Jones.
Jones says that her son had talked back to her at the store. She said that’s when Ballard came over and told her to do something about it.
“She was basically telling me what to do with my son,” said Jones.
Jones said she responded to Ballard by saying, “Lady, you don’t know me. I handle my business. I’m doing right to take care of my son.”
That’s when Jones said Ballard grabbed her son, 2-year-old Sean Goode, from her.
“She took him (off) my lap, bent him over her legs and spanked him like three or four times. He started crying,” said Jones.
Jones said she pushed Ballard away, though she admitted she wanted to do more to her.
Ballard was arraigned Wednesday afternoon on assault charges. She was ordered to stay away from Jones and her son.
Outside the courtroom, a teary Ballard spoke to reporters about the incident. She said that she did not spank the toddler, but only tapped him on the behind.
“I gave him love, affection, attention,” said Ballard as she wrapped her arms around a reporter and tapped him on the rear end to demonstrate what she said she did to the boy.