MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – A restaurant owner once seen on Local 10 News’ Dirty Dining segment is now in legal trouble.
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Miami Gardens police arrested Lovely’s owner Rolanda Benjamin on charges of child abuse and battery on Tuesday.
According to an arrest report, the arrest stemmed from an April 16 incident at her home in the 1500 block of Northwest 208th Street.
Police said the University of Miami Child Protection Team interviewed Benjamin’s daughter, whose age wasn’t specified, five days later.
Authorities said Benjamin, 41, went into her daughter’s bedroom that night “fussing” about her getting a job. The report states her daughter “walked away” from her and started texting her father, leading Benjamin to confiscate the phone and become “confrontational.”
Police said Benjamin’s daughter told investigators that Benjamin “hit her on the head with a closed fist with a phone in her hand” and “continued to pound on her head until she was bleeding.”
The report states that the girl’s grandmother took her to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood where doctors noted “swelling to her scalp.”
Police said Benjamin surrendered at Miami Gardens police headquarters on Tuesday.
Benjamin and Lovely’s were featured in a May 2023 Dirty Dining report after inspectors said they found rodent droppings at Lovely’s.
In April, she publicly disputed Local 10’s latest report about her kitchen being shut down again due to a rodent infestation, claiming her 1622 NW 62nd St. location had been closed for years.
But state officials told a different story, saying she was even present for a follow-up inspection at the site.
A judge found probable cause Wednesday morning to charge her with child abuse and battery.
She no longer appeared in Miami-Dade jail records as of Wednesday afternoon.