Florida mother beat adopted son with dog chain, chipped his teeth with pliers, sheriff says

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A Florida mother is accused of beating her 14-year-old adoptive son with a dog chain and chipping his teeth with pliers in what a sheriff called the most “disturbing” case of child abuse in his 38-year career.

Patricia Dianne Hyler, 47, was arrested May 8 after deputies found evidence that she abused all four of her adoptive children, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters Monday. But Hyler’s 14-year-old son appeared to be a “target child” that she “took a special interest in,” Johnson said.

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Hyler is accused of cutting the boy's arms and head, making him sleep on a dirty concrete floor, and forcing him to bathe by undressing in the front yard and spraying him with a hose.

“I’m not making this up,” Johnson said. “It’s just incredible what people can do to other people, it really is. It’s so disturbing.”

Hyler was charged with aggravated child abuse. The sheriff's office said more charges are expected. (Santa Rosa County Jail)

The boy lived with Hyler and her husband for the past seven and a half years, Johnson said, and was being homeschooled with his siblings.

"She abused this child pretty severely, but she took him out of school and homeschooled him for two years because she knew that if she sent him to school, obviously, somebody would report it,” Johnson said. "So she kept him at home."

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Deputies were tipped off after another child in the home sent a text message to someone who then alerted the sheriff’s office, Johnson said. Detectives also interviewed Hyler’s two adult adoptive children, who have since moved from the home and had similar stories of abuse.

While evidence showed all four children were abused, it is common for one child to bear the brunt of the abuse, Johnson said. All four children are in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.

"I'll be honest with you, as a father it pisses me off, is what it does," Johnson said. "Somebody that can do that to another human is bad enough. But you start doing that to a child, yeah, we take it personally. We really do."

Johnson said he does not expect charges to be filed against Hyler’s husband. He apparently worked long hours and was not home when the abuse was committed.

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Hyler was charged with aggravated child abuse and is expected to face further charges, Johnson said. She is being held at the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.