An Oregon woman faces 19 months in prison after being convicted in a case over her decision to withhold traditional medical care from her daughter, who was suffering from a rare liver cancer at the time.
Christina Gale Dixon, 39, was convicted by a Clackamas County jury last week of custodial interference and criminal assault after a four-day trial.
The charges stemmed from her efforts in 2019 to prevent her daughter from undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor growing on her liver.
Dixon represented herself and testified in her own defense, reading a statement from the stand that lasted more than an hour.
She also called her daughter, now 17, Kylee Dixon to the stand as a witness.
The state called witnesses, including oncologists from Oregon Health & Science University, government employees who worked on Kylee’s child welfare case, and a Clackamas County sheriff’s detective.
Christina Dixon (left) was convicted last week on charges of denying cancer surgery to her daughter (right) several years ago
But Dixon chose to treat her daughter with CBD oil – not a medically approved treatment. The state stepped in to make sure Kylee got the surgery
The then 13-year-old was placed in state custody, but continued to live with her mother, who no longer allowed her daughter to undergo the treatment prescribed by doctors and instead chose to treat the tumor with CBD oil.
Several cancer specialists and nearly two dozen consultant physicians at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital all recommended a course of treatment, including chemotherapy followed by surgery.
Dixon was found guilty of first-degree interference and two counts of first-degree assault – all felonies.
Clackamas County prosecutors told the judge they will seek a 19-month prison sentence.
One of the prosecutors, Bryan Censoni, said he was pleased the jury recognized that parents have an obligation to ensure their children receive life-saving medical care.
“From my point of view, I was pleased that the jury accepted the universal medical consensus in the case,” he said. Oregon Live.
Dixon, who made no comment after the hearing, has asked for the sentencing to be postponed while she attempts to hire an attorney to assist with the next phase of the legal process.
Since the case began four years ago, Dixon has reportedly hired and fired multiple attorneys.
Clackamas County has a long and bizarre history of cases involving parents who denied medical care to their sick children, most of whom had ties to followers of Christ.
The group is a small religious sect based in Oregon City. They subscribe to a literal translation of the Bible and sacred texts, which states that when death comes, it is God’s will.
Earlier this year, several parents were placed on probation after both pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on their son, a 13-year-old suffering from kidney failure.
The couple was accused of failing to provide adequate medical care for their child. He was eventually treated and recovered from the disease.
The elder Dixon (right) now faces a possible 19 months in prison after being found guilty last Friday
Prosecutors in Oregon called a handful of doctors to the witness stand, as well as state child welfare workers, and a sheriff’s detective
Dixon says she wants to hire an attorney prior to sentencing. She has had a number of lawyers with whom things have not gone well since the case started four years ago
Christina Dixon has no ties to the Followers of Christ, but she tried to treat her daughter’s cancer with CBD oil, which her daughter said she supported at the time.
Kylee was diagnosed with undifferentiated embryonic sarcoma in March 2018 and doctors recommended treating her with chemotherapy and surgery.
Without these treatments they said she would die.
After ignoring medical advice, Dixon fled with her daughter just hours before Kylee’s surgery in June 2019.
The girl was found days later in Las Vegas. She was returned to Oregon and placed in foster care.
Her mother remained on the run until August 2019, when she turned herself in.
Kylee ultimately underwent successful surgery in early 2020 and was declared cancer-free shortly after.