A 27-year-old Miami woman was arrested on a child abuse charge after police said she admitted striking her 7-year-old son, who has autism, with a belt when she learned he kissed a classmate on the cheek at school.
Authorities said the boy had visible bruises when he was interviewed through a child protection program, and investigators later documented marks on his face, eye, arm and legs. Police said the mother, Kelly Michel, was taken into custody late Thursday in the Overtown area. A judge set bond at $2,500 and ordered Michel not to contact the child, according to court information described in news reports. The case is being handled by Miami police and child welfare investigators, and it is moving through Miami-Dade County court.
According to an arrest report summarized by police, the case began with a school incident earlier in the week. The boy told child protection interviewers that a classmate fell at school and he kissed the child on the cheek to help him feel better. Other students reported the kiss to a teacher, and the teacher then notified the boy’s parents, police said. Investigators said Michel responded by punishing her son with a belt after he came home from school. The child later told interviewers that “the defendant hit him on his face with a belt,” a police officer wrote in the report. Police said the boy was so frightened while describing what happened that he wet himself.
Child welfare staff then alerted law enforcement and recommended the child be removed from Michel’s home, police said. A Miami police officer who met the child noted a small red bruise near the right eye and a larger bruise that stretched from the right cheek toward the area behind the right ear. The officer also reported thin line marks on the left arm and bruising behind the legs. Police described the discoloration on the side of the child’s face as “purple and red.” Investigators said the child identified the belt as brown and told them it was used during the punishment. The officer said the child was taken to the department’s special victims unit as the investigation continued.
Police said Michel later came to the station and spoke with investigators after being advised of her rights. Officers wrote that she admitted using a brown belt to punish her son and said she struck him several times on his arm and buttocks. Michel told investigators the child was moving, and she said the belt “opened up” during the whipping and struck him in the eye, according to the police account. Miami police arrested Michel at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Local 10 reported, and she was booked shortly after midnight at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Jail records later showed she was no longer listed as an inmate by the weekend, according to the same reports.
Michel was charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, police said. Under Florida law, knowingly or willfully abusing a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or permanent disfigurement is a third-degree felony. State sentencing statutes allow up to five years in prison for a third-degree felony, and fines can reach $5,000. Prosecutors can also seek conditions meant to protect a child while a case is pending, including no-contact orders and restrictions on communication through other people. Investigators have not publicly released medical records for the child or given details about whether the boy needed treatment beyond the initial interviews and documentation of injuries.
The case has also drawn attention because of Michel’s work in the community. A National Women’s Shelter Network website listing described her as the organization’s assistant director, and CBS News Miami reported that staff members at a women and children’s shelter where she worked declined to comment when contacted. Police have not said whether Michel had a lawyer at the time of her arrest. In court proceedings, judges typically review bond, set release conditions and issue protective orders when there are allegations of violence in a home. Investigators said the boy was referred to a case coordinator connected to the University of Miami Child Protection Team after a Department of Children and Families investigator became involved.
Much of what police have made public comes from interviews and observations recorded in the arrest report. Authorities have not named the child, the school or the after-school program where an officer met him, and they have not said when the bruises first were noticed by school staff. Police also have not said whether additional charges could be filed after prosecutors review the case file. The investigation includes child welfare steps that can run alongside a criminal case, such as placement decisions and services for the child. Officials have not said whether Michel had any other children in her care or whether other adults were present during the punishment.
For now, the criminal case centers on what the child told interviewers and what Michel told investigators after she arrived at the station. Police said the child’s account was consistent with the marks they photographed and documented, including the bruise near the eye and the long bruise along the right side of the face. Investigators said the school kiss was described as an attempt to comfort a classmate, not an act meant to harm. The child’s description of fear during the interview became a key detail cited by police as they asked a court to restrict Michel’s contact with him while the case proceeds.
Michel is scheduled for a future court appearance in late April, according to Miami-Dade County court information cited in reports. Until then, police said the no-contact order remains in place and investigators will continue coordinating with child welfare officials as the case moves through court.
Author note: Last updated March 1, 2026.