An Oakland Park mother is being held on $50,000 bond after she burned her son’s arm with a hot knife, authorities said.
Broward Circuit Judge John Hurley said he found probable cause for a charge of cruelty toward a child and torturing and punishing a child as he set bond for Carline Germaine, 36, during a court appearance Friday.
She was arrested Thursday evening, but the incident occurred at their home on April 8, her probable cause affidavit said.
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Germaine put a knife on the stove until it was hot, called the 10-year-old child to the kitchen, grabbed his arm and burned him, causing his skin to blister and peel, according to the affidavit.
“The burn mark was consistent with the shape of a knife,” the affidavit said.
Germaine also “beat him violently leaving several scars on his body,” according to the affidavit.
Germaine denied the allegations, saying that the victim stole $50 from her, the affidavit said. She said she was angry and was going to beat him, but did not, it said. Germaine was aware that she might be arrested, and was seen packing and in the process of moving on Thursday, according to the affidavit.
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Germaine appeared remotely via video from the North Broward Bureau for Friday’s court appearance. A public defender said she attends counseling and supervision on Thursdays with the child, had not been arrested before, has been a surgical technician at Mercy Hospital for the past two years and lives with her boyfriend.
Hurley said that he believes Germaine is a flight risk because she was packing her bags, and said he was shocked by the level of violence toward the 10-year-old. He also noted that Germaine is pregnant, and said he probably doesn’t want to see her give birth in jail.
Hurley said he believes Germaine represents a danger to her son, noted the level of violence and the disturbing nature of it, and reiterated that she is a flight risk before setting her bond at $50,000.
The judge ordered her to have no contact with her son or to come within 500 feet of him, and said that if she posts bond, she will have a GPS monitor.
“I just moved, that’s why I packed. I moved,” Germaine said as the hearing ended.
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Photo Credit: Broward Sheriff's Office