Judge to decide if Pontiac mom accused of abandoning kids should have access to phone in jail
The Brief
A judge will decide if Kelli Bryant should be allowed to have access to phones and tablets inside the Oakland County Jail.
Bryant is accused of abandoning her three kids in a filthy Pontiac home for years.
Authorities said she has called the children's caregiver repeatedly while in jail - a violation of court orders.
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A judge will determine Tuesday if a Pontiac mother in jail for allegedly abandoning her kids should have communication privileges.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald requested that Kelli Bryant's communication privileges be revoked after she allegedly called the person caring for the children repeatedly while behind bars.
The matter will be addressed at a hearing Tuesday afternoon.
The backstory
After Bryant's three children, ages 15, 13, and 12, were found living alone in a Pontiac home filled with trash and feces, she was arrested, while the children were placed with a family member.
McDonald said Bryant called the person taking care of her three children 10 times over a four-day period. She also allegedly had other inmates call the caregiver on their behalf as she attempted to discuss the children and her criminal case.
Bryant is court-ordered not to have contact with the children or their caregiver.
"They have a right, just like all victims have under the Crime Victims Rights Act, to be free of any influence or further trauma," McDonald said.
If Bryant's communication privileges are revoked, she would no longer have access to phones or tablets in the jail, and would be unable to call or video chat with anyone.
Dig deeper
Bryant, 34, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse last month after her children were abandoned in a Pontiac condo four or five years ago. Bryant lived at another home and would occasionally drop food off at the home, authorities said.
The children were found on Feb. 14 after the condo's landlord requested a welfare check. According to authorities, the landlord hadn't heard from Bryant since December, and rent hadn't been paid.
WARNING: The details of this story are disturbing.
Deputies arrived and found the home full of garbage – piled as high as four feet in some rooms. The rooms were also covered in mold and human waste. The toilet was overflowing, and the bathtub was full of feces.
The children survived on food that was dropped off on the front porch each week by either their mother or a stranger.
But they had no access to toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff said they were unfamiliar with personal hygiene and didn't even know how to flush a toilet.
They had also not attended school since she left them and instead passed time by watching TV or playing games. The sheriff said the girls had not been outside in several years.
The boy slept on a mattress on the floor, but the two girls slept on pizza boxes.
According to deputies, neighbors were unaware that children lived in the home and had never seen them. They said they saw their mother at the home each month.
The kids were all wearing soiled clothing with matted hair and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk.
While being held in jail on a $50,000 cash bond for the alleged child abuse, welfare fraud charges were brought against Bryant.
According to McDonald, Bryant was allegedly collecting public assistance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that was intended to go to her children. This was happening while the children were living alone in deplorable conditions.
The Source
Information from the Oakland County prosecutor and previous FOX 2 stories were used in this report.
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