Inset: Jeannette Miller (Lake County Jail). Background: The 3700 block of Scenic Bluff Drive in Eustis, Florida, where Miller allegedly burned a boy with a glue gun (Google Maps).
A 69-year-old Florida woman allegedly burned a boy’s arm with a hot glue gun to teach him a “lesson” after he left the device turned on while working on a model airplane, police said.
Jeannette Miller was arrested and charged with child abuse without causing great bodily harm.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office went to a home in the 3700 block of Scenic Bluff Drive in Eustis after receiving a report of suspected child abuse, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
The Florida Department of Children and Families received a tip alleging that Miller tried to teach the boy “a lesson about not leaving on glue guns.” The affidavit said she took the glue gun he had left on and pressed it against his right arm.
Miller told investigators it was the second time the boy had left the hot glue gun switched on and lying on his bedroom floor.
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“She had picked up the glue gun, put the tip against his arm to show it was still hot and then did it to herself,” deputies wrote. Miller reportedly said she was worried the glue gun could start a fire and described pressing it against the boy’s arm as a “gut reaction” because he sometimes does not listen.
The boy told investigators he had been building a model airplane and knowingly left the glue gun on. According to the affidavit, he said Miller “tapped” his arm with the device, causing a small burn in the center of his right forearm. The injury was still painful when he spoke with investigators.
The boy said Miller usually takes away his electronic devices when he misbehaves. However, he also told deputies that she had hit him before, leaving marks, the affidavit stated.
The boy and Miller live together at the home, but the affidavit redacts their exact relationship.
Authorities arrested Miller and booked her into the Lake County Jail. She later posted a $2,500 bond, and her next court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 2.
