PONTIAC (WWJ) — Kelli Bryant, the Pontiac woman accused of leaving her kids to live on their own in “absolute squalor for years,” is being held on $250 million bond.
The 34-year-old Bryant, charged on Wednesday with three counts of first-degree child abuse, could spend the rest of her life behind bars, if convicted.
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“I thank Judge Gross for setting a bond that ensures that as this case moves forward, it reflects the severity of consequences and the risks for what was inflicted on these poor children,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said, per a press release.
The judge also warned Bryant against any attempt to reach out to her children, ages 12, 13 and 15..
“She is not to have any contact with these children by family members, third party agents or friends,” Gross said, noting to Bryant that any phone calls she makes from the Oakland County Jail are recorded.
In addition to the child abuse charges, prosecutors also intend to file a petition to terminate the mother’s parental rights to the children.
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McDonald said Bryant had been living at an apartment in Pontiac with her four children in 2019. At some point in 2020 or 2021 she moved out, leaving three of the children behind and sending the fourth to live with their father, while the other child went to live with their father.
Police discovered the children at the apartment on Friday, Feb. 14 when the landlord called them to do a welfare check on Bryant, who allegedly had not paid rent since last October. Officers found Bryant’s daughters, ages 12 and 13, hiding in a bathroom that was “filled with feces, piles of trash and completely non-functional,” McDonald said. Their 15-year-old brother was hiding in another room.
McDonald said police were “astonished to find anyone in the location because it appeared to be uninhabitable with piles of garbage and refuse several feet high, including large amounts of human excrement.”
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Bryant allegedly told her children they weren’t allowed to leave the home and prosecutors say the kids were afraid to break the rules. The prosecutor’s office says the girls never went outside, while the boy only went out twice, but never ventured beyond the mailbox.
Bryant would have food delivered to children from time to time, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Bryant’s next court date, a probable cause hearing, is scheduled for March 4.
* Original Article:
https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/bond-set-at-usd250m-for-pontiac-woman-charged-with-child-abuse
