A mother from Tennessee is pleading for leniency from the courts after being accused of involving her young daughter in her waxing business. The 30-year-old, Jasmine Moss, faces charges of child abuse and neglect as per the Memphis Police Department’s recent statements.

The incidents in question reportedly took place at the beginning of 2024, drawing significant public attention. On February 15, 2024, authorities were alerted following a flood of complaints about social media posts linked to Moss’s business. According to police, a viral Instagram post from Moss’s waxing salon depicted her 5-year-old daughter applying hot wax to the private areas of nude clients. This information was covered by Memphis’s CBS affiliate WREG.

Law enforcement revealed that Moss ran her hair removal service from a home on Glenbrook Street. According to detectives, the young child assisted in the waxing process for more than two dozen customers over an extended period, totaling over eight hours. This claim is based on details from the since-removed Instagram post, as reported by local NBC affiliate WMC-TV.

As the case progresses through the legal system, Moss hopes for a favorable outcome, with her court appearance awaited by many following the case with keen interest.

Moss allegedly operated her hair removal business out of a residence on Glenbrook Street, according to law enforcement.

Detectives alleged the defendant’s daughter helped apply hot wax to over two dozen clients over more than eight hours at the house, police said, citing language from the since-deleted post, local NBC affiliate WMC-TV reported.

The post read, in relevant part:

She literally helped me wax 24 clients starting from 7:25-5pm. She made a total of $744 and I’m going to put the money toward whatever her future dreams and aspirations are.

During the initial furor over the post, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance told WREG they received 86 different complaints about the business owner, according to WREG.

The case has dragged on since Moss was first arrested. The allegations were sent to a grand jury in May 2024. Then, Moss was finally indicted on the counts against her in January 2025.

In the intervening time, the Volunteer State has opened ancillary investigations, according to a courtroom report by WREG.

“Hopefully, I can push them to drop this,” Blake Ballin, Moss’s defense attorney, reportedly said on Thursday. “It’s an unusual case. It’s a little complicated because there’s a DCS investigation, and there are some licensing issues with Moss with the cosmetology board. So, we need some time to investigate that.”

The defense attorney outlined the heart of Moss’s case in earlier comments to WMC-TV: “Child abuse and neglect usually requires some sort of physical harm or physical injury, and it remains to be seen if they can prove something like that.”

The defense believes the case should be dropped.

“Certainly, some questionable parenting, but does that amount to a crime?” Ballin asked out loud during the hearing this week. “Our position is that it does not. DCS investigated this, and the child is still in Ms. Moss’s custody.”

In light of that request, the judge overseeing the case decided to push things back. Addressing Moss directly, the judge said: “It appears your attorney and the state will see how this can be resolved, and they may need some time to see how this will ultimately play out.”