Exclusive: Union Co. mom speaks after being arrested for child abduction

MONROE, NC (WBTV) - Kristy Brooks, who had been in hiding with her daughter since December 2015, was taken into custody by the US Marshals Monday morning.

Brooks, 35, was booked into the Union County jail on one charge of child abduction and a civil contempt order, jail records show.

Her 5-year-old daughter was with her when she turned herself in. The child was given to her father.

"She was very, very upset," Brooks said of her daughter. She spokes with WBTV in an exclusive interview after being released from jail Monday night.

"She didn't want to go. She kept asking me if I was going to get her; that she's going to be back home soon," she said.

Brooks was released from jail on a $50,000 bond. Longtime Union County legislator Fern Shubert put up the money for the bond, Brooks and bail bondsman Dorian Jones of Bail M Out Bail Bonds said.

WBTV Investigates spoke exclusively with Brooks in early January after the Union County Sheriff's Office announced it was looking for Brooks.

Previous story: Mother, wanted by police, speaks about decision to hide out with daughter

In the interview, Brooks said she went into hiding with her daughter to protect the girl from her father. Brooks has accused the girl's father of sexually abusing her.

Medical records and DSS records obtained by WBTV show Brooks attempted to report the abuse multiple times but, each time, the complaints were dismissed as unfounded.

DSS records show Brooks' case was supervised by Wanda Sue Larson, the DSS worker who was arrested on child abuse charges in late 2014 after a foster child was found chained to her porch with a chicken around his neck.

Union County DSS never conducted a review of the cases supervised by Larson.

Sheriff Eddie Cathey has defended his office's handling of Brooks' complaints. The child's father has previously refused to speak with WBTV regarding the allegations.

Standing outside the Union County courthouse Monday night, Brooks said this is not how she wanted her time in hiding to end.

"I expected this to end a different way," she said. "I expected somebody to step up and arrest the real criminal, not me."

Despite the fact that she now faces a felony charge, Brooks said she has no regrets about going into hiding with her daughter, so long as it meant keeper the girl from her father.

"It makes me want to throw up but right now it's God giving me peace that she's OK," Brooks said.?

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