Florida Mom Althea Ricketts, beat son with computer cables for using Facebook

A Florida woman brutally beat her son with a computer cable for using Facebook, police said.

Althea Ricketts struck her son several times at their home in Apopka, a city southwest of Daytona Beach, injuring the child's arms, according to The Orlando Sentinel.

The 62-year-old was arrested Friday after the boy, whose name and age were not released by authorities, ran to a friend's home after the assault, the newspaper reported.

The beating came after someone told Ricketts about a posting on her son's Facebook page, which suggested the child may want to hurt himself, police said.

Ricketts told arresting officers the boy had lied to her about having the Facebook profile, and that "hitting a child with a cable is a common way of disciplining kids where she comes from," The Orlando Sentinel reported.

The mother was charged with aggravated child abuse. She is being held without bail.