Kelli Bryant pleads to welfare fraud charges; trial in March for child abuse

A Pontiac lady accused of leaving her three kids alone for years in a dirty house with damaged pipes pleaded no contest to welfare fraud expenses Monday in Oakland County Circuit Court docket, the place a toddler abuse trial is pending.

Kelli Bryant, 34, entered her plea earlier than Choose Mary Ellen Brennan. A no contest plea will not be an act of contrition, however is handled as such for sentencing functions. It may well additionally present some legal responsibility safety in civil circumstances.

Bryant was arrested in February after Oakland County sheriff’s deputies found her three kids, ages 15, 13 and 12 on the time, have been residing alone in a townhouse in Pontiac. Officers have described the house as “uninhabitable” and “filthy,” crammed with massive piles of trash, mould and human waste. The youngsters “lived with out hygiene merchandise, restricted entry to meals and just about no contact with the skin world,” mentioned Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. It’s alleged that Bryant deserted the kids in 2020 or 2021.

The welfare fraud expenses have been primarily based on allegations that Bryant collected assist funds from the Michigan Division of Well being and Human Providers whereas the kids allegedly lived with out her or another grownup supervision.

Bryant’s trial on three counts of first-degree little one molestation is scheduled for March 2, 2026. If convicted, she faces life in jail.

She will probably be sentenced on January 28, 2026 for the welfare fraud cost, which, as a result of it exceeds $500, carries a jail sentence of as much as 4 years and/or a $5,000 nice.

“The decision of the welfare fraud cost doesn’t in any manner influence the case in opposition to Kelli Bryant on the extra severe little one abuse allegations,” McDonald mentioned in a information launch. “We absolutely intend to carry her accountable for the abuse these kids suffered due to her alleged neglect.”