OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – The Broward Sheriff's Office arrested a pregnant woman accused of burning her 10-year-old son with a hot knife after he stole money from her.
Police arrested 36-year-old Carline Germaine on Thursday and charged her with cruelty toward a child. She appeared in bond court Friday.
According to an arrest affidavit, on April 8, Germaine placed a knife on the stove until it was hot, then burned her son's arm with it. He suffered blistering and peeling to his skin. Investigators said the burn mark was shaped like a knife.
Germaine also beat him, leaving several scars on his body, investigators said. She told police her son stole $50 from her.
Broward Circuit Court Judge John Hurley deemed Germaine a flight risk.
"When the police got there to investigate, they said you were already packing your bags and in the process of moving or leaving the area," he said.
"I just moved to an apartment. That's why I packed to move," Germaine replied.
"You're pregnant and the court probably doesn't want to see you give birth in the jail," Hurley told Germaine before ruling she be held on $50,000 bond and have no contact with her son, who is in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.