- October 29, 2024
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A 19-year-old Palm Coast woman has been charged with child abuse for allegedly hitting her 10-year-old niece with a belt.
Flagler County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at a home in the R Section on July 16 to find the woman, Arianna Hall, grabbing the 10-year-old by the arm and shoving her out of the front door. Hall was yelling at the girl to leave for misbehaving
According to Hall's arrest report, the girl was distressed, breathing heavily and rocking back and forth and not speaking. The deputy called a mental health specialist to the scene to help her when she did not respond to the deputy.
A second deputy attempted to get Hall to calm down and explain the situation, but she refused, continuing to yell about how the girl was acting up and that Hall did not care about her or what happened.
Hall was on the phone with the child's mother at the time, telling her to come pick the 10-year-old up. The deputy took over the call and the mother said another family was on the way to pick up her daughter.
The deputy trying to calm the girl down noticed a large four-inch bruise on her leg, the report said. The girl told the deputy that her aunt had hit her with a belt because the girl was scratching her own arm.
When asked how many times she was hit, the girl became upset and would not speak anymore, the report said.
Between the aggressive behavior the deputies witnessed and and the girl's statement and injury, Hall was arrested and charged with domestic battery and child abuse. She was taken to the county jail.
