‘Acts of torture.’ Bradenton couple sentenced for abuse and neglect of 3-year-old
A Bradenton man and woman have been sentenced for their roles in a child abuse case that investigators described as “acts of torture.”
A Manatee County judge sentenced Timothy Lyle Florey and Brooke Taylor Schaetzl after the couple pleaded no contest to charges. Detectives say Florey, 26, repeatedly beat Schaetzl’s 3-year-old child and locked her in a closet as punishment for wetting herself and crying.
Florey was initially charged with aggravated child abuse, but court records show Florey was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by 24 months of probation after pleading no contest to a lesser charge of child abuse without great bodily harm, a third-degree felony.
Circuit Court Judge Matt Whyte sentenced Schaetzl, 29, to 11 months and 29 days in jail, followed by 24 months of probation, after court records show she pleaded no contest to child neglect charges.
Attorneys for Florey and Schaetzl did not immediately respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comment.
The charges stem from an incident in March when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a 3-year-old child with bruising on her face. When deputies arrived at the home, they say they found the child “covered in bruises” on her face, back and legs and were met with an “uncooperative” Schaetzl, who they say initially refused to open the door before attempting to leave out of the back door with the child.
Deputies say they were waiting for Schaetzl at the back door and after talking to her, they discovered Florey fled the home earlier.
Court records reveal when Florey later spoke with detectives, he told them he locked the child in a dark closet, knowing she was afraid of the dark, as a punishment for wetting herself and crying. Detectives described Florey’s actions as “torture” and said Schaetzl failed to intervene or seek medical attention despite observing the child’s extensive injuries. Had Schaetzl taken “appropriate action,” investigators say her child “would not have endured at least three days of physical abuse.”
When bathing her after the incident, detectives said Schaetzl observed “extensive” bruising to her daughter’s legs but made no attempts to seek medical attention or remove her from the “terrible situation.”
Schaetzl told detectives she noticed the acts of child abuse in March but made no attempts to leave the residence because she was afraid of Florey, according to an arrest report.
But detectives wrote in the report that when interviewed, Schaetzl said Florey never threatened her with violence and that she had the freedom to leave the house alone. Investigators said Schaetzl failed to seek proper treatment for her daughter’s injuries or remove her from a “very dangerous environment.”
Detectives arrested the pair in June, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
As part of his sentence, Florey must take an anger management class, undergo a substance abuse evaluation and complete public service work, according to court records.
Schaetzl’s probation requires both substance abuse and mental health evaluations, a parenting class and prohibits her from contact with Florey and unsupervised contact with any child under 18.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 5:50 AM.
