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Kelly Michel (Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation).
In a troubling incident out of Florida, authorities have taken a woman into custody after she allegedly assaulted her autistic son with a belt. The incident followed the child’s innocent gesture of kissing a classmate, an act which reportedly prompted the violent reaction, according to local police.
Kelly Michel, aged 27, is facing charges of child abuse without causing great bodily harm, as reported by the Miami Police Department. The charges stem from an event involving her 7-year-old son, which unfolded after he returned home from school on a Tuesday, detailed in both a criminal complaint and arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.
The case came to light when a Department of Children and Families investigator brought the young boy to meet with a case coordinator at the University of Miami Child Protection Team. Following this meeting, law enforcement was notified about the situation, according to police reports.
The affidavit mentions that the child explained his actions by saying he simply wanted to comfort a classmate who had fallen at school. “The victim disclosed that his classmate fell at school, and he kissed him on the cheek in the hopes of him feeling better,” the document notes. This incident was reported by other students to the teacher, who subsequently informed the boy’s parents.
“The victim disclosed that his classmate fell at school, and he kissed him on the cheek in the hopes of him feeling better,” a police officer wrote in the affidavit. “Some of the students told the teacher, then the teacher informed the victim”s parents.”
Upon hearing this news, Michel allegedly used a belt on the boy.
“The victim told [the Child Protective Team] that the defendant hit him on his face with a belt,” the affidavit goes on. “The victim urinated on himself as he disclosed [the incident] to them.”
Child welfare agents then reported to law enforcement that the boy had visible injuries – described as “purple and red” – on the side of his face as well as bruises on various areas of his body. The agency also recommended the child “be removed from” Michel’s residence.
Next, law enforcement went to meet with the boy directly.
“I observed a red dot bruise in his right eye, a visible bruise from the right side of his cheek to behind his right ear (purple and red in color), line marks on his left arm, and a bruise behind his legs,” a police officer wrote in the affidavit. “I briefly spoke to the victim who disclosed the defendant used a brown belt in the incident.”
The boy was then taken to the special victims unit office, police said. Later that evening, the defendant arrived at the police station.
After being read her Miranda rights, Michel allegedly admitted to using the belt on her son, according to law enforcement.
“[The defendant] admitted to using a brown belt to punish the victim,” the affidavit goes on. “She added that she hit him several times on his arm and buttocks. She also said that because he was moving around, the belt opened up and hit him in his eye.”
The defendant was arrested on Thursday night and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center early Friday morning. She was detained on $2,500 bond as of Friday afternoon, but is no longer listed as an inmate as of this writing, records show.
Michel is next slated to appear in court on April 27, Miami-Dade County records show.