Kelli Bryant, 34, a Pontiac mother charged with horrific child abuse, has pleaded no contest to welfare fraud, officials announced Monday. The plea was entered without any sentencing agreement or leniency from the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.
Bryant still faces three counts of first-degree child abuse for allegedly abandoning her three children, who were found living alone in deplorable conditions in their Pontiac apartment for years. Authorities reported the children — ages 15, 13, and 12 at the time — lived amid trash, feces, and other hazards, with minimal supervision.
Oakland County Prosecutor stated that the welfare fraud plea does not affect the pending child abuse case, and Bryant will be held accountable for her alleged neglect. She is scheduled for sentencing on the welfare fraud charges on January 26, 2026, the same day as a pretrial conference for the child abuse charges.
Police previously described the apartment as virtually uninhabitable, with evidence technicians needing hazmat suits to process the scene. Bryant occasionally provided food deliveries, but her children had lived mostly alone since 2020 or 2021.
