Warning: Some of the details of this story may be disturbing to some readers.
A Broward woman is facing charges in a disturbing child abuse case where authorities said she smeared feces on her son as punishment for defecating on himself.
Tania Contreras, 39, was arrested Tuesday in West Park on an aggravated child abuse charge, Broward jail records showed.
According to an arrest report, on May 11, a Department of Children and Family investigator responded to a location in West Park after a report was made to the Florida abuse hotline that said Contreras smeared feces on a child.
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Contreras gave the investigator her cellphone, which had a video of her son with feces on his face, chest and arms as he stood in a shower naked, the report said.
Contreras told authorities she had became angry when her son had soiled himself and didn't tell her, the report said.
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"Tania stated she recorded herself smearing feces all over her son, as a form of punishment so he would learn to not defecate on himself again," the report said.
Contreras said she sent the video to her mother in Venezuela, the report said.
Contreras was taken into custody and her son was taken for a medical exam, which found the child had multiple old scars, scratches, marks and bruises throughout his legs and arms, the report said.
He also had a large bruise on his back and a large round scar on top of his right wrist, along with a scar on his right leg that he said happened when his mother hit him with a belt, the report said.
Contreras later admitted to detectives that she physically disciplines her son with a belt when he is disobedient, the report said.
She described one incident where the child exited a vehicle before her and ran to the front of a grocery store as "excessive disobedience" and said she beat him with a belt, the report said.
Contreras also said she hit her son on his head with a cellphone after he broke the screen, the report said.
"The offender advised she was punished harshly as a child, and would show up to school with black eyes," the report said. "The offender advised physical punishment is normal in her home country of Venezuela."
Contreras said she believes her son was afraid of her which is why he didn't tell her he'd defecated on himself, the report said.
"The offender admitted continuously that she knows smearing feces all over her son's body was excessive and advised she over did it after she became frustrated with her son," the report said.
Contreras was booked into jail, and later appeared in court where she was granted a $15,000 bond, but records showed she's staying behind bars on an immigration hold.
