DeBary, FL - A mother is facing abuse charges after their child was found walking by themselves, bruised and in their underwear.
Yesterday (January 23rd) just after 10 p.m., Volusia County Sheriff's Office was called to a home off South Charles R. Beall Boulevard after someone had said they found a kid.
When deputies arrived, they met with the reporting party who said they had found the young boy walking southbound on the sidewalk in nothing but underwear, with no one else in sight around them.
One deputy took the child aside and asked what happened.
The child, a 10-year-old boy, said that he came home after a bad day at school in which he received a negative note from his teacher. His mother, 29-year-old Shiyann McGill, told him to go take a shower and afterwards he would be spanked.
After leaving the shower, the boy laid face down on his bed and his mother began to hit him, with what was described as a belt.
After being hit three tims, the boy ran away but his mother followed behind him. Out of fear, he ran out of the front door of their home without getting dress.
The boy began walking toward's his aunt's house in Sanford, according to his story.
At some point in the night he also tripped and fell on the sidewalk, resulting in numerous superficial scrapes on his knees and elbows.
The boy then showed the deputies the bruises left on his body from his belt, which included visible injuries to his legs, forearm and lower back which included the outline of a belt shaped object.
Even though the boy was reluctant and fearful of being brought back to his home, he was able to give deputies an address.
Back at his home, VCSO made contact with McGill who confirmed her son's story except that he ran away sometime after 8 p.m.
When asked where her child was, she said that she didn't know and that she only called his father in Orlando to say he went missing instead of law enforcement.
She also said she didn't strike him with a belt but a leather purse strap with a buckle.
After their investigation, deputies arrested McGill for child abuse after striking him and intentionally putting him in emotional distress.
She was later transported to Volusia County Jail where she is currently being held on $5,000 bond, according to jail records.
McGill's kids, including the young boy, were taken into Department of Children and Families custody.
