A woman was arrested after she punched her daughter in the face, leaving her with a fractured nose, and then kicked her repeatedly, the Lauderhill Police Department said.
Latangela McCall, 29, was arrested Wednesday for aggravated child abuse. She is currently being held in the Broward County Jail on over $52,000 bond, according to online jail records.
McCall took her 15-year-old daughter to Plantation General Hospital, where staff notified police of the girl’s injuries.
Police said Latangela punched her daughter several times “with a closed fist” and kicked her while she was on the floor. The teenager told authorities that her mother was upset with her for being expelled from school that morning.
The girl sustained a fractured nose and bruises to her face and body. She is currently in her grandmother’s custody, police said.
On Thursday, McCall faced Broward Circuit Court Judge John Hurley, who recounted what the daughter told police.
"She said when she got home you waited for her, struck her multiple times with a closed fist, threw her onto the couch in the living room then kicked her about the face and abdomen," Hurley said.
Hurley then listed the teen's injuries, which included a blood-shot eye, swollen cheek and "vaginal bleeding."
"I'm not a doctor but it seems like when you beat someone that she starts bleeding from her private areas, that seems like a pretty severe beating," said Hurley.
It's not the first time McCall has been in trouble with the law. Hurley said she has had prior felony convictions and warrants for failure to appear in court in several counties.
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Some of her prior convictions include forgery and trafficking cocaine in Tampa, Hurley said. She also has a hold in another county for allegedly driving without a valid driver's license and giving a false name while being arrested or detained.
Hurley said that though McCall's criminal record so far was made up of non-violent acts, when it came to this latest arrest, "the court is concerned with the level of violence, the nature of the violence and for the safety of the victim in the future."
