A mother has been arrested after bruises were discovered on her daughter who attends The Villages Charter Middle School.
An investigation was launched by the Department of Children and Families after notification by school personnel that the student was found to have bruises in the locker room at the middle school, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department.
A DCF caseworker and police on Sunday went to the home of 40-year-old Herlande Michel on Wood Duck Lane in Fruitland Park. Her daughter told the DCF caseworker that she had gotten in trouble for misusing her school-issued Chromebook and put into in-school suspension.
“Michel found out about this and punished her by striking her more than 10 times with a computer charging cord. The bruises on (her) arms, outer and inner thighs were apparent even three days later,” the arrest report said.
The bruises were in the shape of the computer cord, the report noted.
During her interview with the DCF case worker, the Haitian-born nurse said she “did not think there was anything wrong with the punishment.” Michel added that she did not want her daughter to go to jail and she was trying to “straighten her out.”
Michel was arrested on a felony charge of child abuse. She was booked on $2,000 bond at the Lake County Jail.
