A Miami mother was arrested for allegedly keeping her 9-year-old daughter trapped inside the house for years, forcing her to beg for food and neglecting her basic needs, police said.
Kelli McGriff-Williams, 42, appeared before a judge Thursday facing allegations that she locked up her daughter between 2017 and 2023, confining her “most of the time in a bedroom,” according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
“The victim would have to beg for food and the defendant would not always provide food,” police wrote in the arrest report.
The girl was also deprived of any medical visits “even when she was very sick,” authorities said. Additionally, the girl cannot read or write and she never received a proper education, ABC News reports.
McGriff-Williams was involuntarily admitted to Jackson South Hospital on August 26 due to her “altered mental status,” police said.
Authorities took the mother into custody following an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families into the alleged abuse.
Kelli McGriff-Williams was arrested for allegedly keeping her 9-year-old daughter locked in her home for years. Miami-Dade County Corrections
The boy was taken into police custody and confirmed the allegations detailed in the state investigation, authorities said. The University of Miami Child Protection Team concluded that the boy suffered cases of “child neglect, medical neglect, mental injuries and educational neglect.”
The victim’s father, who was not publicly identified, also confirmed the allegations, saying he has been trying to get legal custody of his daughter for the past five years.
After interviews with the girl and her father, McGriff-Williams was released from the hospital and booked on September 3.
McGriff-Williams was charged with felony child neglect.Getty Images
McGriff-Williams pleaded not guilty to charges of felony child neglect and was held on $5,000 bail.
A McGriff-Williams representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn