Prosecutors want communication privileges revoked for mom accused of abandoning her 3 children

    PONTIAC, Michigan (WWJ) -- Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald filed a motion to revoke the communication privileges of a Pontiac mother accused of child abuse and abandoning her three children for years.

According to prosecutors, jail records reportedly show that Kelli Bryant called her children's caregivers 10 times between March 8 and March 12 to talk about her children and her case. Bryant allegedly also had other inmates call the caregiver on her behalf.

"Kelli Bryant has clearly and repeatedly violated the judge's order not to contact the victims or their caregiver," said McDonald in a new release. "That order is in place for an important reason – to protect the victims. The decision to ask that an inmate's communications be restricted isn't made lightly, but Bryant was repeatedly disobeying court orders and, by doing so, further endangering the victims."

Bryant, 34, is lodged 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. Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross initially set Bryant's bond at $250 million.

If McDonald's motion is granted, it would prohibit Bryant from using a tablet, telephone and video communication devices while in jail.

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.

Bryant's next scheduled court appearance is April 15.