A Central Florida mother has been arrested for child abuse by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
On February 20, 2024, HCSO deputies responded to a welfare check call at the Preserve at Sabal Park Apartments in Seffner, near Tampa.
When deputies arrived, they, along with an investigator from the Department of Child and Families, met with 28-year-old Karyn Parrish and asked to speak with her two children.
During the interaction with the children, deputies encountered a child under the age of five who exhibited signs of distress, 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.
Through investigative means, detectives also discovered videos on Parrish’s phone in which she directed one of her children to strike their sibling with a belt. In one of the recordings, Parrish can be heard laughing and saying, “Hit harder. Hit hard, baby. Beat the crap out of the sly devil.”
Detectives additionally uncovered a video in which Parrish informs her child that they are going to be tortured, and if they die, then so be it.
Karyn Parrish was arrested and charged with child abuse and transported to Orient Road Jail without incident.
The children were removed from the home and placed in the care of a relative.
“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 Hillsborough County 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.”
This is an active investigation, according to local law enforcement.
