Inset: Nataly Francelia Cruz (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Background: The Florida City Police Department headquarters (Google Maps).
A Florida woman was recently arrested for abusing her younger brother after the juvenile victim went to a neighbor and pleaded for help, Sunshine State law enforcement says.
Nataly Francelia Cruz, 26, stands accused of one count of child abuse without great bodily harm, Miami-Dade County court records show.
The underlying incidents of abuse are alleged to have occurred at a residence on Southwest Ninth Street in Florida City, a small suburb which is located some 50 miles southwest of Miami.
The defendant was arrested on Wednesday after the victim said his sister forced him to kneel on rice for several hours in a shed when he misbehaved, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Miami-based Fox and ABC affiliate WSVN and local independent TV station WPLG.
Officers responded to the residence after a neighbor called police to report that the boy came to his residence around 4:45 p.m. that afternoon and said he "couldn't take it anymore" after being subjected to the rice punishment since 11 a.m.
The boy also said "this is not the first time he has been punished this way when he misbehaves," according to the charging document.
When police arrived, the boy pointed the finger at his sister for the punishment — and explained that she is his legal guardian since their mother was deported, according to the affidavit.
"I observed minor injuries on his knees consistent with kneeling for a long time on a surface with rice," a police officer wrote in the charging document. "He also reported that while kneeling, he attempted to use the restroom inside the house but his sister refused to let him inside the house."
The defendant, for her part, also gave a statement to police — but her words were reportedly redacted from the document.
Cruz was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $2,500 bond.
The defendant made an initial appearance on Thursday morning before 11th Judicial Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer. The court found probable cause for the charge and ordered Cruz to stay away from her brother.
Cruz is also subject to an immigration hold, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Comments