Inset: Nataly Francelia Cruz (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). Background: The Florida City Police Department headquarters (Google Maps).
Authorities in South Florida say a Florida City woman was arrested after her younger brother allegedly fled to a neighbor’s home and begged for help following repeated abuse.
Court records in Miami-Dade County identify the suspect as 26-year-old Nataly Francelia Cruz, who is charged with one count of child abuse without great bodily harm.
The alleged abuse took place at a home on Southwest Ninth Street in Florida City, a community about 50 miles southwest of Miami.
Investigators say Cruz was taken into custody Wednesday after the boy told authorities his sister punished him by forcing him to kneel on rice inside a shed for hours when he got into trouble, according to an arrest affidavit cited by Miami television stations WSVN and WPLG.
Police were called to the home after a neighbor reported that the child arrived at his house around 4:45 p.m. and said he “couldn’t take it anymore,” claiming he had been made to endure the punishment since 11 a.m. that day.
According to the charging document, the boy also told investigators that this was not the first time he had been punished in that manner for misbehaving.
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.
