Florida child suffers severe allergic reaction to washing out “potty mouth” with soap

The traditional punishment of washing out a child’s mouth with has soap led to abuse charges against two a Florida couple.

Adriyanna Herdener and Wilfredo Rivera were arrested by Palm Bay police after Herdener’s daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction after being forced to wash out her mouth with soap.

Authorities with the Department of Children and Families said Herdener and Rivera took the punishment too far.

“Our detectives with our special victims unit investigated this, and this went way beyond discipline. This went way beyond punishing the child. This was, in their words, ‘malicious torture’,“ Palm Bay Police Department spokeswoman Yvonne Martinez said.

DCF investigators said the 8-year-old girl was forced to chew on the bar of soap and had an allergic reaction that required medical attention.

Investigators said the parents initially refused to take her to the emergency room.

Rivera later relented, but took the child home before she could be treated.

Hospital staff then called police.