A Florida couple faces numerous charges of child neglect after their 6-year-old son was found unconscious with his head in a motel toilet.
The boy is on life support according to WESH News
According to an arrest report obtained by WESH, Osceola County deputies responded to a reported drowning at a Knights Inn motel room, in Kissimmee, on Tuesday, July 5.
The child’s mother Bianca Blaise told police that her son’s “head was in the toilet like he was drinking water” and that he “became unconscious.”
When deputies arrived, they found the boy had no pulse and was in father Larry Rhodes Jr.’s arms.
According to WESH, Osceola County deputies noticed the boy had suffered injuries, including swollen eyes and blood in his mouth.
Deputies administered CPR and transported the boy to a nearby hospital with a brain bleed, a life-threatening condition, and he was placed on life support.
Officers found eight people in the hotel room when they were called, six of whom were children. The family had been staying at the hotel since April.
A 4-year-old in the room was found to have bruises on his face as well as “fresh cuts” around his mouth, the network reported.
When Blaise and Rhodes Jr. were asked about the injury, they said their children had fought with one another. WESH later reported the 4-year-old told deputies that “daddy hit me.”
After both parents were taken into custody, Blaise claimed Rhodes Jr. had previously “whooped” the children and that he had become more upset recently as he had run out of schizophrenia medication, WESH reported.
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Rhodes Jr. is facing six counts of child neglect with great bodily harm, one count of battery, and one count of aggravated child abuse. Rhodes Jr. is also being held on a $33,000 bond.
Blaise faces numerous child neglect charges, but denied having any knowledge of her children’s injuries, according to the network.
No booking photo for Blaise was available at the time of this report.
Police have since launched an investigation to establish how the children received their injuries.
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