A woman from Florida is currently incarcerated due to her involvement in an incident where her 6-year-old autistic son was viciously attacked by her boyfriend, as reported by state law enforcement.

Cynthia Hernandez, aged 32, faces multiple charges including child neglect leading to severe harm, failing to report child abuse or neglect, and giving false information to authorities, according to records from the Miami-Dade County jail examined by Law&Crime.

These charges are connected to a separate case involving Hernandez’s boyfriend, Daniel Eduardo Romero, 34. Romero was taken into custody on January 11, facing charges of aggravated child abuse causing significant harm, child neglect leading to severe injury, and providing false information to law enforcement, as indicated by jail records.

The investigation was initiated earlier this month when police responded to a distress call on Northeast 179th Street in Miami regarding a 6-year-old child who was in cardiac arrest, as detailed in an arrest report accessed by Miami’s NBC affiliate WTVJ.

Upon arrival, officers discovered the child without a pulse and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The medical team was able to revive the boy and subsequently transported him, along with Hernandez, to Jackson North Hospital, authorities stated.

Romero, for his part, allegedly told police he was teaching the boy to ride a bicycle when he fell and bruised and scratched his forehead and face the day before. When officers asked to see the bike in question, however, the male defendant was allegedly unable to provide one.

Then came the narrative shift, law enforcement says.

Romero subsequently changed his statement to say the pair were playing on a wagon instead of a bike, police said. The wagon provided, however, had a broken wheel and appeared weathered and long out of use, according to the police report.

The male defendant allegedly went on to say he did not think the child was severely injured, so he did not initially seek medical care. The next morning, the boy was lethargic and became progressively weaker as time passed until he finally lost consciousness, Romero said, eventually prompting the 911 call, according to law enforcement.

Hernandez, when questioned, also first gave the story about her son falling from a bike, police say. Later, the mother admitted she only said what her boyfriend wanted her to say, police allege.

Then, the female defendant said that when she woke up on the day in question, she found her boyfriend next to her son. Romero allegedly told her the child had been rocking on the edge of the bed before he fell and hit his head on a television and then hit his head on a food stand.

At the time, Hernandez said, she noticed swelling on the rear of his head along with a small cut and some bleeding, as well as a swollen arm, according to the police report. So, she gave her son some medication, applied ice to the swollen areas, and left the house.

When she returned home, the mother found her boy had suffered yet more injuries, including a large lump on his forehead and scratches on his face, police said. This time, when she confronted Romero, he said he slipped and fell while running with socks on, police allege.

That’s when Romero fed her the line about the bike, should she be questioned, Hernandez allegedly told law enforcement.

Eventually, the mother relayed concerns that her boyfriend was, in fact, to blame for the serious injuries, police said. She said Romero was often irritated by the boy’s autistic behavior and their 5-month-old’s crying, adding that her boyfriend severely disliked the older sibling’s biological father and would become incensed when his last name was used, according to the arrest report.

The child was later transferred to Holtz Children’s Hospital. There, staff found he suffered internal bleeding to his brain and abdominal cavity, lacerations to his liver, kidney and spleen, a fractured left arm, bruising and scratches to his face, bruising to his back, swelling to his forehead and back of his head, according to law enforcement. A physician’s assistant said the injuries could not have been caused accidentally but rather were likely the result of blunt force trauma.

“You hurt my child, you hurt my grandson to the core,” the little boy’s grandmother told WTVJ earlier this week. “You beat on a 6-year-old autistic boy like he was nothing.”

In a statement to the local TV station, an attorney for the female defendant took the North Miami Beach Police Department to task.

“We are extremely disappointed that the N.M.B. Police Department has decided to arrest and press charges against a mother who is nothing more than a victim. People are not perfect, but this is a dire mistake,” Hugo Apellaniz said. “The police are aware that our client is also a victim at the hands of Daniel Romero as unfortunately her son was as well. The focus is on her son’s health and recovery, and we look forward to her being vindicated.”

Romero is being detained without bond, jail records show. Hernandez is currently awaiting a bond determination.