$250 million bond for mother charged with child abuse, judge says
A Michigan mother who allegedly abandoned her three children and forced them to live in squalor alone for four years is being detained on a $250 million cash bond — a massive amount more commonly seen in cases involving high profile or wealthy defendants.
The mother, 34-year-old Kelli Bryant, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse this week after Oakland County sheriff's deputies discovered her children — ages 12, 13 and 15 — alone in what officials have described as "horrifying" living conditions. At an arraignment Thursday, 50th District Court Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross said she set the multimillion-dollar, cash-only bond because she was concerned Bryant may try to stop her children from cooperating with authorities from jail.
"Should the court find out that you are sending messages to engage in further fear tactics and intimidation of the children, your phone privileges will be removed,” Gross said.
Gross added that she also considers the mother to be a danger to any minor children, including her own three children involved in this case. “I do find her an acute risk and danger to the community,” Gross said in ordering the high bond.
The $250 million bond raised eyebrows among many in the legal profession.
High bond has been set for parents accused of abandoning their children before. A Texas woman, Gloria Williams, was held on $1.5 million bail after being arrested for making three of her children live alone for more than a year in a bug-infested apartment with the decomposing body of their 8-year-old sibling, according to The Houston Chronicle. Williams was sentenced to 50 years in prison in November.
Bonds in the hundreds of millions of dollars are sometimes seen with high profile or wealthy defendants. Former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, for example, was initially released on a $250 million personal recognizance bond, which federal prosecutors described at the time as perhaps the largest ever, before he was found guilty of stealing billions from customers of the cryptocurrency exchange he founded and sentenced to 25 years in prison in March.
$250 million bond raises eyebrows in legal community
Prominent defense attorney Arthur Weiss, who has practiced law for more than four decades and is president of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, said the purposes of bond are twofold: to assure the defendant will appear for future appearances, and, to prevent additional crimes from occurring. There are few guidelines for setting bond amounts and the task is generally left to the discretion of the judge or magistrate, Weiss said.
"In my opinion, such a bond amount is designed to send a message," Weiss said. "The conduct alleged is outrageous and will not be tolerated .... at least by that judge."
Weiss expects Bryant's lawyer will file a motion asking for a lower bond. Veteran criminal defense attorney William Swor, who has practiced law for more than five decades and is on the board of directors for the CDAM, called the $250 million bond "blatantly unconstitutional."
"There is no evidence she is a risk of flight or a danger to the community," Swor said. "It violates the plain language of the Michigan bond statute."
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard appears to believe the judge got it right.
“I thank Judge Gross for setting a bond that ensures that as this case moves forward, it reflects the severity of consequences and the risks for what was inflicted on these poor children,” Bouchard said.
Mom's lawyer acknowledges case is serious, but pushes for bond
Given that Bryant, who appeared at her arraignment by video from the Oakland County Jail, is being represented by a court-appointed attorney because she can't afford a lawyer, it's unlikely Bryant will post that hefty bond. She has also portrayed herself in prior court filings as a struggling single mom who got no help from her children's fathers.
Bryant's public defender Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe acknowledged in court that this is a serious case, though she argued for a personal bond, maintaining her client is not a flight risk and has ties to the community.
The judge wasn’t convinced and set the high bond, which comes with the following conditions should Bryant post it: She cannot have any contact with her children, or any other minors, via phone calls or text messages through her family members or friends. She also is prohibited from having drugs, alcohol, or possessing a weapon, and would have to wear a GPS tether.
Bryant's arraignment comes one day after Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald announced the felony child abuse and neglect charges, which could land the embattled mother in prison for life if convicted.
Bryant was arrested on Friday after sheriff's deputies found three of her children living in squalor in a condominium. There was no working toilet. Feces covered several rooms. Two children slept on pizza boxes.
According to the prosecutor and the sheriff's office, the 15-year-old boy was the only one who left the home in four years, and it was only a handful of times: to check the mail, and once to touch the grass. His younger sisters, ages 12 and 13, were too afraid to ever leave — as was the boy — because their mother had instructed them to never answer the door or go outside, authorities said. And the children feared what would happen to them if they went outside, said McDonald.
The children were discovered on Friday after the landlord called the sheriff's office and said he had not communicated with the mother since December, nor had he received rent since October, and he was worried something happened. So the landlord accompanied sheriff's deputies to the home on Lydia Lane and discovered the horror inside: The children's hair was matted. Their clothes and bodies covered in feces. And their toenails were so long they struggled to walk.
Neglect is is the most common form of child maltreatment and more than 546,000 children were victims of abuse and neglect nationwide in 2023, the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported in its most recent report. These numbers are likely an undercount because many cases go unreported, according to the CDC.
Housing inspectors visited rental when kids were living alone
At least twice, inspectors visited a Pontiac townhome where the children were allegedly abandoned by their mother, raising questions as to whether the kids could have been found and rescued sooner.Last summer a city building inspector visited the home to check out a newly installed front porch, city records reviewed by the Detroit Free Press, part of the Paste BN Network, show. And in 2022, another inspector reported a "reinspection" at the townhouse after it was cited for being an unregistered rental in 2020.Registering the rental would have triggered additional reviews of the home to ensure it was habitable for occupants, including a safety inspection.After inquiries from the Free Press, a spokesperson for Mayor Tim Greimel, said the city is "investigating whether whether any current city employees may have been responsible for not following up on this property when it was flagged as an unregistered rental years ago. If so, they will be held accountable."
Contributing: Kevin McCoy and Kevin Johnson, Paste BN; Violet Ikonomova, Detroit Free Press; Alexis Simmerman, Paste BN NETWORK; Reuters