Florida Mother Arrested After 10-Year-Old Says She Was Handcuffed, Tied And Burned

A Florida mother has been arrested after her 10-year-old daughter told investigators she was restrained with handcuffs and rope and burned as punishment, according to local reports and an arrest affidavit.

Allegations and Investigation

Authorities say 35-year-old Gineth Ramirez told detectives that one of the child’s burns occurred while the pair were making flan, but she was unable to account for two other wounds observed by investigators. The girl told a child protective investigator that Ramirez "burned her on her arm and legs because she misbehaves" and that her mother "makes her sit on a brown chair and ties her hands to the back with a rope or handcuffs," according to WPLG Local 10 and NBC 6 South Florida, which cited the arrest report.

Gineth Ramirez's mugshotCredit: Hialeah Police Department

Observed Injuries

The child disclosed the alleged abuse after a child protective investigator was called to her school in Hialeah, Florida. During the meeting, the investigator observed what appeared to be first-degree burn marks on the child’s body: the right forearm, the right shin and the upper right thigh, the outlets reported.

Statements and Charges

After the child spoke with the investigator, detectives interviewed Ramirez. She reportedly told officers that while they had been in the kitchen making flan together, the child dropped a spoon with hot flan onto her leg. Ramirez could not, however, explain two additional burn marks on the girl’s body, according to the arrest report.

Police vehicle (stock image)Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

"The victim and she were in the kitchen cooking flan ... the victim told her she wanted to eat a piece of the flan ... she handed the victim the spoon with flan and told her to blow because it was hot ... she handed the victim the spoon, but she did not grab it and instead it fell on her leg," the detective wrote in the report, as cited by WPLG.

Ramirez reportedly denied using corporal punishment, saying she sometimes makes her daughter sit on a chair facing the wall but that she "has never" tied her hands with rope or handcuffs. The child’s account in the affidavit directly contradicts those denials.

Ramirez, who is also the mother of a 2-year-old son, was booked into jail on Thursday, Sept. 10, and faces a charge of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm — a first-degree felony in Florida, jail records viewed by PEOPLE show. PEOPLE was unable to reach an attorney for Ramirez at the time of reporting.

Resources

If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free, confidential and available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.