JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The woman accused of kidnapping her daughter from a bus stop in Jackson spoke to WJTV 12 News.

Jackson police said Dessan Riley took her 10-year-old child from the bus stop near the intersection of Fredrica Avenue and Saint Charles Street on August 14, 2025. They said Riley does not have custody of the child.

Police said Riley was arrested later that same day, and her daughter was located at Riley’s residence in New Orleans. Riley is now facing kidnapping charges in Jackson, but she said there is more to the story.

“We started getting into it about the discipline of the kids, because it’s like the kids are telling you, like, ‘Oh, she beat me, she did this, and she did that.’ And at first it’s like, okay, I will tell her. I’m like, you know, you can’t do this, and you can’t do that. But it was like, it just kept getting worse,” she said.

Riley did not go into detail about why she felt taking the child was her only option. She said her children are struggling mentally and emotionally. Riley believes authorities should take that into account.

According to Jackson police, Riley has a history of mental illness and drug abuse. Police said the child has been in custody of her current legal guardian since she was six months old.

Riley is expected to be extradited from New Orleans back to Jackson at some point.