Zinah Jennings appears in court on August 8, 2012.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The mother of a Columbia boy who has been missing since last year is now facing an assault charge.
Jail records show that Zinah Jennings has been charged with third-degree assault and battery.
Jennings' attorney has said the charged stems from an allegation that his client pushed and shoved a jailhouse nurse over medication earlier this year. Jennings has been ordered by a judge to take an antipsychotic drug.
Jennings has been in jail since late last year on a charge of cruelty to children. Authorities say she has refused to tell them the whereabouts of her son, 2-year-old Amir Jennings.
The young mother is pregnant with a second child. Her trial on the cruelty charge is set to begin later this month.