I'll Wash Your Mouth Out With Soap

Thursday, October 15, 2009

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- It was in a house off Shenandoah Drive in Palm Bay, in which investigators say a little girl was punished. According to Palm Bay Police, the mother's boyfriend, Wilfredo Rivera, made her chew on soap for ten minutes, while the child's mother, Adriyanna Herdener, watched.

"I think people need to educate themselves more about using an object or foreign substance in a child's body. Whether it's soap or hot sauce. You just never know how somebody's going to react," said neighbor Christina Chiarilla, who works in child care.

Investigators say the child was crying, vomiting and foaming at the mouth. According to police, the boyfriend wouldn't let the girl rinse out her mouth until she cleaned up her mess.

Reports state the child's lips, throat and tongue became swollen and was in pain. That's when the mom asked her boyfriend to take the 8 year old to the hospital.

Police say Herdener didn't go to the hospital because, she didn't want to deal with the Department of Children and Families. But when DCF was called to the hospital, they say Rivera left with the child even before she was treated. Both were later arrested at her home. According to the DCF, the couple has a lengthy history of complaints.

Chiarilla says it's a shame. "Parents make mistakes. They don't know everything. Their mistake wasn't necessarily that they gave her the soap, it was the reaction to what happen."

And now the mother and her boyfriend face punishment for their actions. They were more concerned about themselves. To me that's a selfish reaction," adds Chiarilla.

Both Herdener and Rivera bonded out of jail. They did not want to comment.