PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A pair of Plantation parents were arrested after, police said, their 13-year-old daughter reported severe physical abuse stemming from a misunderstanding over nail expenses.
7News cameras captured Fania and Edwin Pereira as they bonded out of jail, Thursday night. Visibly emotional, the couple declined to comment on the incident or the charges they are facing.
Investigators said the incident unfolded on Tuesday over the Pereiras’ daughter spending too much money at the nail salon.
Plantation Police officers responded to Imagine Charter School at 8200 Peters Road the next day, where the victim shared the troubling events with a school administrator.
According to the police report, the trouble began when the daughter, whose identity is protected, mistakenly overspent on nail services, leading to an angry exchange of text messages with her mother, Fania Pereira.
In those messages, Fania threatened the child with “5 beltings,” the police report states.
Things took a dark turn when Fania picked up her daughter from a nail salon. The young girl was reluctant to enter the vehicle, fearing her mother’s reaction. In the car, Fania reportedly assaulted her daughter by grabbing her hair and punching her thigh in the front passenger seat.
Upon arriving home in Plantation, the situation escalated further. The report states Fania retrieved a belt from the master bedroom and continued to hit her child.
When the teen attempted to shield herself with a book bag and even resorted to kicking in self-defense, Fania threatened to inform her father, Edwin Pereira, that she had attempted to harm her mother.
The report states that upon returning home, Edwin joined the abuse, using the same belt to strike his daughter for trying to defend herself against her mother.
During the incident, Edwin reportedly threatened the child. The arrest states he warned his daughter that “if she were to call the police, when he is released from prison he is going to hurt [her] worse.”
“That gives me pause, Your Honor,” said Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder during Edwin’s bond hearing. “I think it definitely is an aggravating factor for the court’s consideration.”
The police report details the daughter’s injuries, including marks, bruise, and red impressions consistent with a belt and buckle on her arms.
Officers were able to confirm the abuse and subsequently took both parents into custody. Authorities said neither parent had a prior criminal history.
Fania and Edwin Pereira appeared before a judge on Thursday, They each face one count of child abuse without grave bodily harm and are not allowed any contact with their daughter.
“That includes no text messages,” said the judge during Fania’s bond gearing.
“So there’s going to be a lot of restrictions that are put on you and your son,” said the judge during Edwin’s bond hearing. “The last thing you want to have happen is to overwhelm your son to the point where [the Florida Department of Children and Families] decides that they’re going to put your daughter in foster care.”
The victim has been placed in the custody of her older brother, Adrian Pereira, who is 23 years old. He spoke with 7News on Thursday.
“My parents are good people, they’re better parents, and this is just one big misunderstanding,” he said.
Police said that the girl’s parents admitted to the beating.
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