PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A West Virginia woman was arrested Friday afternoon in Pikeville, after security cameras allegedly caught her repeatedly hitting her sick child.

Police were called just before 3 p.m. to Pikeville Medical Center, after staff alerted to the child’s screams reviewed the video.

The 4-year-old girl had been taken to the hospital to be treated for a number of gastro-intestinal and respiratory illnesses. While the child and her mother were waiting, the video reportedly shows the woman hitting the child in the mouth repeatedly, while the girl was gagging and trying to vomit into a bucket.

When questioned about the video, the mother — identified as Diana Willis, 26, of Logan — reportedly admitted she “popped” the girl in the mouth, but said it didn’t hurt her. She said she did it because the child was crying and asking to play with markers, when she wasn’t allowed.

Willis was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal abuse, which is a felony punishable by 10-to-20 years in prison.

The child was placed in the custody of a family friend.