SEFFNER, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a mother for child abuse on Wednesday
On February 20, 2024, deputies responded to a welfare check request at the Preserve at Sabal Park Apartments in Seffner.
Deputies arrived, along with an investigator from the Department of Child and Family Services, and asked to speak with Karyn Parrish, 28, and her two children.
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During the interaction with the children, deputies encountered a child under the age of five who was distressed, shaking, and crying.
The child had recently received a new haircut and displayed a bruise on their cheek nearly two inches in size. Deputies asked the child how they got the bruise, and the child stated, “Maybe my mom. Maybe she was slapping me around. She doesn’t remember. Mommy tells her she doesn’t remember things.'” Parrish later admitted she slapped the child at least three times.
Detectives discovered videos on Parrish’s phone in which she instructed one of her children to strike their sibling with a belt. In one of the recordings, Parrish is heard laughing and saying, “Hit harder.” Hit hard, baby. “Beat the sly devil.”
Detectives also discovered a video in which Parrish informs her child that they will be tortured, and if they die, so be it.
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Karyn Parrish was arrested, charged with child abuse, and taken to the Orient Road Jail without incident.
The children were removed from their home and placed in the care of a relative, deputies say.
“It is absolutely gut-wrenching and incomprehensible to have a case like this, where a mother would inflict such horrifying treatment on her own children,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “My heart aches for these two young and innocent children. As Your Sheriff, I promise you that our team will not rest until we ensure that all the children in our community are safe.”
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