MIAMI — During a recent child protective services interview, a 7-year-old boy, who was diagnosed with autism, described abuse that was so scary that it caused him to wet himself, according to police.
The boy had “visible injuries” when he met with a case coordinator at the University of Miami Child Protection Team after a Department of Children and Families investigator made the introduction, according to police.
“I observed a red dot bruise in his right eye, a visible bruise from the right side of his cheek to behind his right ear (purple and red in color), line marks on his left arm, and a bruise behind his legs,” a police officer wrote after responding to the boy’s aftercare program on Tuesday, according to a police report.
The boy reported that his mother, Kelly Michel, had used a brown belt to cause the injuries, after the aftercare program’s coordinator said a teacher had noticed his injuries, according to a police report.
The beating followed an incident in school.
“His classmate fell at school, and he kissed him on the cheek in the hopes of him feeling better,” a police officer wrote, according to a report. “Some of the students told the teacher” and “then the teacher informed the victim’s parents.”
After the UM CPT case coordinator reported that the boy had “to be removed from the home,” the police officer took him to the police station’s special victims unit, according to the police report.
Police officers arrested Michel, 27, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, and corrections booked her shortly after midnight on Friday at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Michel faced a charge of child abuse with no great bodily harm.
Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
