South Daytona, FL - Investigators say that a South Daytona mother punched her 10-year-old son in the face with a closed fist, dislocating his jaw, after he did not do as he was told. South Daytona Police arrested 35-year-old Ann Perugia on Wednesday (October 23) after the boy's aunt brought him to the police station.
The boy told investigators that his mother told him to stop playing his video games and get in the shower. The boy stated that he forgot to do what his mother told him. When she came back into the room 10 minutes later asking if he'd taken a shower, he responded "no." He headed towards the bathroom which is when, according to the boy, his mother got irate and pushed him into the bathroom where she punched him in the face.
After the incident, the boy called his father asking to be picked up. The investigators spoke with the boy's father who said his son was standing outside the mother's home with a bag of clothes when he pulled up. Perugia came out and told the father to take his child and leave. The father said his son told him the same story as he told investigators. The father is pressing charges of child abuse against Perugia.
Perugia tells the story a little differently from her son's version. She said that when she got serious with him about getting into the shower, he stomped his feet into the bathroom. She asked what his attitude was about. He replied, "I hate you and you don't do anything for me!" She said she left the room and then heard her son talking to his father about being picked up.
Investigators say based on what they found, Perugia was placed under arrest and charged with Infliction of Physical/Mental Injury on a Child. She remains in the Volusia County Jail being held without bond.
