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Officials: SW Florida Woman Faces Charges For Branding Children

PORT CHARLOTTE (CBSMiami/AP) — A woman in southwest Florida now faces charges after officials said she branded her two children using a heated stick.

The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says 23-year-old Kayla R. Oxenham of Port Charlotte was arrested and charged with child neglect earlier this week. Officials say Oxenham heated a stick with a lighter and burned her children, ages 5 and 7, in order to mark them as her own. The woman reportedly promised the children ice cream after the burning.

Allegations of abuse were first reported in March to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The case was then turned over to the sheriff's office.

Online jail records list Oxenham's occupation as a medical assistant.

She was released on $15,000 bail Wednesday. The jail records didn't list an attorney.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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