Mother forced 3-year-old daughter who was 'acting out' to live with lice in her hair, cockroaches all over her clothes, police say: 'She was hungry'

A Florida woman faces accusations of allowing her 3-year-old daughter to live in unsanitary conditions, including with a “severe infestation of lice in her hair.”

Roslain Perdomo, 36, remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm. Authorities say the incident happened on Sunday.

A Miami Police Department officer was patrolling near Northwest Fourth Avenue and Northwest Eighth Street in Miami when he “observed a nude adult female with a nude female child” standing on a street corner, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. The officer approached and asked the woman what was happening and whether she needed assistance.

The woman, later identified as Perdomo, told him “her daughter was acting out and wanted to go outside,” so she accompanied the child. However, when the mother attempted to return inside, the toddler “was resisting,” the court document states.

The officer reportedly instructed Perdomo to “grab the child and go back home,” but she could not do so “safely.” The affidavit also indicated that the defendant appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

The officer then radioed for assistance from the Miami Police Department’s Special Victims Unit.

Authorities conducted a welfare check on the child and discovered that, besides the lice infestation, the girl “appeared malnourished and expressed she was hungry and thirsty,” the affidavit said. Perdomo reportedly allowed officers to enter her home “to retrieve clothing,” but once inside they encountered filthy conditions.

“There was no edible food in the home, and there were roaches all over the food, furniture, and clothing,” authorities said. “The refrigerator and freezer were empty and infested with roaches,” and one officer “observed what appeared to be a large nugget of marijuana in plain sight, near the victim’s toys.”

Officers arrested Perdomo, seized the suspected drugs, and reported the situation to the Florida Department of Children and Families. Authorities have not said who currently has custody of the child.

The defendant’s bond is listed as “to be set.”