Pontiac mom has jail communications suspended after 'flagrant violation of court order,' judge rules
Judge could revoke Pontiac mom's jail communication privileges
A Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her three children inside a filthy home for years could soon lose access to phones and tablets inside the Oakland County Jail after she allegedly violated court orders by calling the children's caregiver repeatedly.
OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A judge suspended the communication privileges for the Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her kids for one week after the appearance of "flagrant violations" of a court order.
Kelli Bryant won't be allowed to contact anyone from her jail cell following a virtual hearing Tuesday, Judge Cynthia Walker ordered.
What we know:
The mother of three kids who were found living in squalor in a Pontiac apartment had her jail communication privileges revoked for a week following concerns she had violated a court order.
Bryant was ordered to not have any contact with her children or their caretaker, the judge ruled during a bond redetermination hearing earlier in March.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office said she had spoken to their caretaker 10 times over a four-day period. She also allegedly asked other inmates to call the caretaker on her behalf.
Judge Walker said there "appears to be a flagrant violation of a court order" during a virtual hearing on Tuesday.
"I expect strict compliance with the no-contact provision," she said.
What we don't know:
It's unclear what details were discussed between Bryant and the caregiver.
The defendant's attorney confirmed there had been a discussion about "appointments" for the kids, but did not give any more information. She also said Bryant had been using her communication privileges, which include a tablet and a phone, to attempt to pay her bond to be released from custody.
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.
Kelli Bryant
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.
Three kids live alone in Pontiac home for years, found living in severe filth; mom arrested
Three children were living in filth and squalor for years, sleeping on pizza boxes and unable to even flush a toilet, the Oakland County Sheriff said.
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.
Welfare fraud charges added for Pontiac mom charged with abandoning 3 kids for years
Kelli Bryant, the mom charged abandoning her three kids in Pontiac, is charged with welfare fraud as the prosecutor says she received almost $30,000 from the state, which was meant for the kids she's accused of leaving to live alone in filth.
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.