A Joshua Tree woman was arrested Friday after Sheriff’s deputies determined she was physically abusive to her children. According to a Sheriff’s report, deputies were called to the 6300 block of Center Street in Joshua Tree just after 6:30 p.m. Friday for a report of child neglect. According to witnesses, Christalyn Swanson, 40, was under the influence of alcohol and was slapping, punching, and pulling the hair of her children. When deputies arrived, Swanson refused to answer the door. Deputies entered the home through an unlocked window. During the investigation, deputies learned that Swanson had physically assaulted the children while she was intoxicated and that the children were in a car that she drove while she was drunk. Christalyn Swanson was arrested on suspicion of felony child cruelty, booked into the Morongo Basin Jail, with her bail set at $100,000. Court records show Swanson has past misdemeanor convictions between 2004 and 2011 for driving under the influence, public intoxication, and fighting.
