Miami woman accused of making 12-year-old boy beat his 5-year-old cousin with a belt, police say

A Miami woman was arrested Tuesday after police say she forced a 12-year-old boy to beat his 5-year-old cousin with a belt during an incident in Homestead. 

Sarahi Azucena Gonzalez, 22, faces one felony count of child abuse without great bodily harm and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a child, according to her arrest report. 

The report said that the 12-year-old victim, who's only identified as T.D., previously lived with Gonzalez from February 2025 through April 2026 as a family member, but the report doesn't say how Gonzalez is related to the child. 

On or around July 23, T.D. was dropped off at a home along Southwest 6th Street in Homestead to spend time with his younger cousin. 

The report said that the 5-year-old cousin urinated on the floor, which made Gonzalez angry. She allegedly began striking the younger child, using both a broom and closed fists. When T.D. tried to intervene by moving Gonzalez's hands away, she allegedly ordered the younger child to stand on a bed facing the wall. 

Gonzalez then handed T.D. a belt and instructed him to strike his cousin on the buttocks, according to the report. T.D. told investigators that he complied out of fear and didn't want to hit his cousin. 

However, the report states that when Gonzalez felt T.D. was not hitting hard enough, she allegedly ordered him to hit harder. 

After the beating, Gonzalez told the 5-year-old to shower and then stand in a corner, according to the affidavit.

T.D. told investigators he was too scared to call police or contact his parents.

Investigators noted in the affidavit that forcing T.D. to inflict injury on his 5-year-old cousin intentionally could reasonably be expected to result in mental injury to a child.

The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified and may be implementing services, according to the affidavit. 

Gonzalez is being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where her total bond was listed as $ 4,000 on the Miami-Dade Corrections website. A judge set the felony child abuse count at $ 2,500, and the misdemeanor count at $1,500. 

As of Thursday afternoon, she had not posted bond and remained behind bars.