PALM COAST, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida woman was arrested Thursday after deputies said she was seen shaving a child relative’s head, writing derogatory slurs on her face, and shoving a metal bar in the victim’s mouth.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said it learned of the abuse at around 2:15 p.m. Thursday when someone called its dispatch.
Investigators said Priscilla Jocelyn Florentino, 33, was upset with the child relative after finding explicit photos on her phone.
After confronting the child, Florentino handcuffed the victim to a steering wheel and left her in a hot car before taking her into a business on Palm Coast Parkway and, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies said that was where she abused the child by shaving her head and shoving the bar in her mouth.
“You have the right to discipline, but this woman took her anger out on the victim in completely unacceptable ways and then tried to impede the deputies who responded to investigate,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “In my career, I’ve never seen someone do these kind of horrific acts to a minor as disciplinary measures.”
“I hope she gets anger management classes, which she obviously needs,” he added.
Body cam video showed Florentino refuse to speak to responding deputies at a home before resisting them by kicking and yelling swears at them. She was eventually calmed down by deputies and a male bystander.
Florentino was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Center on charges for child abuse without great bodily harm, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting an officer without violence.
The Florida Department of Children and Families has been notified of this incident, according to the sheriff’s office.