Pontiac mother charged with abandoning kids accused of calling their caregiver from jail

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Pontiac mother currently in jail after she allegedly abandoned her children in a filthy home for years is accused of calling their caregiver repeatedly despite being ordered not to.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald has asked to have Kelli Bryant's communication privileges revoked because of this. 

What they're saying:

According to a press release from McDonald's office, 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.

After she was charged with child abuse, Bryant was ordered not to have contact with her children or their caregiver. 

"Kelli Bryant has clearly and repeatedly violated the judge’s order not to contact the victims or their caregiver," McDonald said. "That order is in place for an important reason – to protect the victims. The decision to ask that an inmate’s communications be restricted isn’t made lightly, but Bryant was repeatedly disobeying court orders and, by doing so, further endangering the victims."

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.

"They have internal protocols they follow when they find violations," said McDonald. "Their children and they’ve been through a lot, and there’s a no-contact order which we believe was absolutely appropriate, and she violated that order."

The backstory:

Bryant, 34, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse last month after her children, ages 15, 13, and 12, 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.

Dig deeper:

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 defendant appears to have effectively abandoned her children while collecting their public assistance," McDonald said. "This crime is, first and foremost, a theft from Kelli Bryant’s children. These resources were intended to ensure they had the basic necessities denied to them. The children deserved better."

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