Florida Mom Beat Son In His Underwear Over Bad Grades


A Florida mom is accused of violently beating her 12-year-old son after he brought home three F’s on his school report card. Now, she has been charged with at least one count of aggravated child abuse. HLN reports that Sarah Dennis gave authorities an interesting excuse for why she inflicted numerous injuries on her son.

Pembroke Pines Police arrested the woman on October 6 after it was revealed that she had violently punished her preteen son for getting bad grades. Police reports indicate that the child brought home a report card with three F’s on it. That’s when the Florida mom took the boy to his room and made him strip down to his underwear. That’s when she reportedly began beating him with both a belt and her closed fists.

According to Sarah’s son, the Florida mom beat him into submission until he was down on the floor and crying out in pain. She forced him to get up off of the floor so she could continue beating him with a belt. When she was done doing this, she told him to come close to her. When the preteen did as he was told, she punched him in the face and in the body numerous times. This resulted in him getting a black eye.

WPTV News reports that the child’s teachers noticed the signs of abuse in the following days, who “forced him” to talk to a school guidance counselor about what had happened at home. This prompted police to arrest the woman after interrogating her about what had happened to her son.

The 25-year-old Florida mom admits to beating on her son with a belt, claiming that he had gotten too big for normal discipline. She told police that her son is “more tolerant of pain” now that he’s older, so she had to take to drastic means to get her point across to him. She also denied punching him in the eye, claiming that he must have gotten the black eye while fighting at school. Authorities have not indicated whether or not the claim of fighting in school is true, but judging by the charges she has been given, they don’t believe her.

Danielle Whipple blacked her child's eye after the kid flushed her rent money down the toilet. Photo credit: Orange County Sheriff's Dept.
Danielle Whipple blacked her child’s eye after the kid flushed her rent money down the toilet. Photo credit: Orange County Sheriff’s Dept.

This, sadly, isn’t the first time a mother has been accused of blacking her children’s eyes. This week, another Florida mom blacked her young child’s eye after the kid flushed more than $700 down the toilet. The age of the child has not been revealed, but The Palm Beach Post reports that the child flushed the money because they wanted to watch a movie and was not allowed to do so. Former star of the MTV show Teen Mom 2 Jenelle Evans was accused of child abuse last year when her 3-month-old baby had a black eye. Also recently, a Pennsylvania mother named Dalishia Salter was arrested for blacking both of the eyes of her 11-month-old son, while beating him. When she was done, she threw him next to an outdoor garbage bin, where his father found him later.

Dalishia Salter was arrested for blacking both of her baby's eyes. Photo courtesy of Wilkinsburg PD.
Dalishia Salter was arrested for blacking both of her baby’s eyes. Photo courtesy of Wilkinsburg PD.

In the state of Florida, aggravated child abuse could carry a minimum sentence of 78 months of imprisonment. Since the Florida mom in this latest story has admitted to using her closed fists and a belt, she may end up convicted. No reports indicate, however, whether or not her children were removed from her custody. It has been reported, however, that her younger son (who is 11-years-old) told authorities that he was also punished for bringing home poor grades.

Do you think the Florida mom in this story went too far with her use of corporal punishment? Do you think it’s ever acceptable to use physical violence to punish children?

[Photo: FDLE Mugshot]

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