Pontiac mom accused of abandoning her 3 children loses communication privileges for a week
A Pontiac mother accused of child abuse and abandoning her three children for years has lost communication privileges for one week.
On Tuesday, 50th District Court Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker ruled Kelli Bryant had violated a court order when she spoke with the caregiver of her three children. During a bond redetermination hearing earlier this month, Bryant was ordered not to have any contact with her children or their caregiver.
"At this point, it appears there was a flagrant violation of the court order," Walker said.
According to Oakland County prosecutors, jail records reportedly show that Bryant called her children's caregivers 10 times between March 8 and March 12 to talk about her children and her case.
"I want to make sure that she understands the court orders are exactly that. They are not suggestions. They are not hopes that you will comply, so I expect strict compliance with the no-contact provision," Walker said.
Bryant allegedly also had other inmates call the caregiver on her behalf.
"If there is another violation, the court will schedule an emergency hearing within 24 hours notice of a violation," Walker said.
Bryant, 34, is being held in the Oakland County Jail on a $50,000 bond. She is charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse and three counts of welfare fraud in connection with a child neglect case where her three children were found living in a Pontiac home in "deplorable shape" and allegedly abandoned by her nearly five years ago. Prosecutors are also seeking to terminate Bryant's parental rights.
On March 7, Bryant's bond was lowered to $50,000 cash. A judge initially set Bryant's bond at $250 million.
Deputies received a call on Feb. 14 from a landlord at a residence on the 600 block of Lydia Lane in Pontiac after not hearing from Bryant since December 2024. The landlord said rent had not been paid since October, and he was concerned something might have happened.
When deputies arrived at the home, they found a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl, and the home was in a vile state. Deputies discovered mold and human waste throughout, garbage piled as high as four feet, and an overflowing toilet. The children were reportedly covered in feces, and the two girls had trouble walking out of the house.
Investigators believe the children were abandoned between 2020 and 2021. According to McDonald, Bryant was living with her four children at the home in 2019 and left with one of her children, who is now living with their father. Officials say Bryant has four children with two different fathers.
