Islamorada man charged with child cruelty

An Islamorada man was arrested early today, charged with child cruelty.

Deputies responded to a disturbance  just after 3 a.m. at a residence in Islamorada. When they arrived, they spoke with all the occupants of the home. During the course of these interviews, they spoke with a 10 year old boy who revealed he’d been struck in the back with a belt the day before by Aroldo Coronado Mendez. He said he’d been doing laundry and did not feel well. He said he fell down and that is when he was struck with the belt, repeatedly. When deputies looked at the boy’s back, they saw four distinct welts which were consistent with being struck by an object like a belt.

Other’s at the residence saw Mendez strike the boy with the belt and corroborated his story. Mendez was arrested. He was charged with child cruelty and he was taken to jail.