FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – A pair of Florida City women are facing two charges each of aggravated child abuse after police said an elementary school gym coach suspected something was amiss with their 7-year-old son in his physical education class Thursday.
Authorities said Ashanti Sereeta Young, 43, and Janice Young, 46, severely beat their 8-year-old daughter as well.
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Both children told investigators they were most recently beaten for coloring, arrest reports state.
According to the reports, both children attend Laura Saunders Elementary School in Homestead.
That’s where the school’s physical education coach noticed the boy wouldn’t take off his jacket during class, police said. The reports state the 7-year-old approached him and whispered into his ear that his mom told him not to take it off.
The coach told police he had a “bad feeling” about this and reported it to a school counselor, the reports state. The coach told officers he was especially concerned because the boy had missed class Monday and Wednesday, which was “unusual.”
Police said the boy reiterated to the counselor that his mom had told him not to take off his jacket and an examination by a school nurse revealed bruises and “fresh cuts” on his arm.
His 8-year-old sister would tell the school staff members that their mothers “beat them with a white and black cord.”
According to the reports, she told officers that “during Thanksgiving break from school, (she) was misbehaving by coloring and drawing. Her second mom (Janice Young) beat her with a white electrical cable against the back of her thighs.”
“(She) had trouble sitting down because the back of her legs hurt,” police wrote. “Sometimes (the) second mom uses a really white cord, a shoe, or a stick to hit her.”
The girl told officers that her brother was beaten the same way on the same day, police said. The reports state that she told investigators that Ashanti Young would “hit her sometimes, but not as bad as Janice.”
In the presence of the counselor, the girl showed police her legs and back, the reports state.
“(She) had multiple linear scars on her back and arms,” police wrote. “There were freshly-scabbed, sharply-rounded C-shaped welts on the back of her legs and she repeated she received these injuries at the hands of Janice.”
Her brother, who police said “initially appeared scared and apprehensive to talk about why he could not remove his jacket,” made the same allegations.
“Janice had beat him with a white extension cord for coloring in one of his books,” police said he told them. “Janice put a sock on his arm and told him not to remove it. She also told him not to remove his jacket and show anyone his injured arm.”
After removing the sock, the boy revealed “multiple linear scabbed welts on his left forearm and old linear scars on his left leg” and said the injuries came from Janice Young hitting him with the cord, the reports state.
Police said they separately interviewed both women, who initially denied beating the children, with Janice Young “feign(ing) surprise” about the allegation and claiming the children “hit each other.”
Alleged confessions that police said were made after the two were shown photos of their children’s injuries were redacted from the report.
A judge found probable cause to charge both women and both were being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Friday morning.
Ashanti Young was given a $10,000 bond, while Janice Young was given a $15,000 bond.
The children were taken into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.