Pontiac mother charged with child abuse held on $250M bond

Kelli Bryant, a 34-year-old Michigan mother, has been charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse after allegedly abandoning her three children, aged 15, 13, and 12, in a squalid home for years. At her arraignment, Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross set an unprecedented cash bond of $250 million, citing Bryant as an 'acute risk' to the community and her children. The horrific conditions in which the children lived were discovered following a welfare check initiated by their landlord, who reported unpaid rent since October 2024. Prosecutor Karen McDonald described the situation as involving 'unimaginable abuse and neglect,' noting that the children survived on minimal food deliveries. Bryant's defense argued against the high bond, suggesting she is not a flight risk, but the judge remained unconvinced. If convicted, Bryant faces a potential life sentence, and authorities are also considering terminating her parental rights.