Jasmine Jean-Baptiste (Miami Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation Center).
A mother in Florida is accused of terrorizing her son and a 65-year-old man who took the pair into his home to let them live with various forms of torture and abuse, like making her child “sit in a squatted position for hours on end” and striking the man with random objects, including a knife and “sharpening tool” on one occasion, cops say.
“She is f—ing strong,” the man allegedly told investigators after being questioned about the abuse, according to Miami ABC affiliate WPLG.
Jasmine Jean-Baptiste, 31, is accused of beating and pummeling the sexagenarian so badly that police say he is now blind in one eye. She allegedly “exploit(ed) his compassion and concern for her children,” according to the Miami Shores Police Department, and tortured her son behind closed doors in the process.
“A witness reported observing a significant and consistent pattern of abuse, including multiple instances of battery on various occasions,” the police report states, per WPLG. “The victim further provided photographs from various incidents, which depicted bruising, contusions and facial lacerations consistent with his account of abuse.”
According to police, Jean-Baptiste allowed a man who is described as her 13-year-old son’s stepfather abuse the boy for years before the two of them wound up living on the street in a car. She was taken in by the 65-year-old victim nine years ago when her son was just a toddler, and she was allowed to live with him up until her arrest.
Police say Jean-Baptiste began abusing her son in the same ways his stepfather did when they lived together, including forcing him to do squats “for hours” when he was “bad in school” and refusing to “give him water” during the punishment sessions.
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A recent incident at the boy’s school, in which a coach heard her say “I am going to kill him” after an unspecified incident, led to an investigation by the Florida Department of Children and Families. The 65-year-old man told police he was “scared” of Jean-Baptiste and unable to defend himself.
“She will jump on me,” he allegedly told detectives, recalling an alleged incident in which Jean-Baptiste “sucker-punched” him and left him blind in one eye and another incident that saw her knock out one of his teeth, according to cops.
“I can’t hit her,” the man said. “You know, a male would be blamed for hitting a female.”
Jean-Baptiste’s son told authorities she was known to slap and hit him repeatedly with belt buckles and her hands, allegedly leaving a scar on one occasion.
“I’d rather you worry about the kids,” the 65-year-old told cops while being questioned.
Jean-Baptiste is facing charges of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm and aggravated abuse of an elderly or disabled adult. She’s being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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