TULSA, Okla. – A Jay man was sentenced to “time served” on Wednesday by a federal judge for neglecting his child.
Brian and Stephanie Florer entered guilty pleas in May 2022 in U.S. District Court in Tulsa.
Brian Florer appeared before U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell where he was also put on probation for five years, according to court records.
Stephanie Florer was also scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday. Court records showed she appeared in federal court, but her sentencing was delayed until May 15.
In the May 2022 plea agreement, the victim, now 19 years old, was in agreement with Brian Florer receiving five years’ probation and Stephanie Florer serving not more than five years in prison.
The couple admitted between December 15, 2015, and August 27, 2017, they “failed to provide adequate nurturance, affection, food, clothing, shelter, and sanitation,” the plea agreement states.
The parents also withheld food and clothing as punishment and failed to provide medical care. The victim required multiple dental treatments, the plea agreement states.
According to court records filed in Delaware County District Court, the victim endured repeated physical abuse, in which the couple allowed other children in the home to participate.
In addition to denying food, the child was dragged through the house by her hair and forced to sleep on a filthy floor and made to go to the bathroom in a trash can, and repeatedly beaten with a paddle, according to state documents.
Stephanie Florer acknowledged she treated the victim differently than her natural-born children and this created an environment where the victim did not feel free to move about the house in the same way the other children did, according to a memorandum filed in federal court.
“While Florer disputes the severity of the neglect that occurred in the present case, she does acknowledge that she neglected (the victim).”
Stephanie Florer’s Sentencing Memorandum, filed April 26, 2023
Stephanie Florer believed “she was just disciplining (the victim) for things such as lying, stealing from her step-siblings, or sneaking out of the house. However, the punishments consisted of things such as grounding (the victim) from watching television, which effectively confined (the victim) to her room if someone else in the house was watching television in the living room,” the court filing stated.
“Florer now realizes that she is guilty of neglect because she did not make it clear to (the victim) that she could leave her room to get dinner or use the restroom. Likewise, she never checked to make sure (the victim) ate the dinners Florer prepared for the family,” the memorandum states.
Florer neglected the victim by failing to realize that her relationship with her had deteriorated to the point the teen would not ask her for simple things such as food or permission to leave her room to use the bathroom, the memorandum states.
The couple were prohibited from seeing their other children for over 18 months.
The Florer’s two-year-old daughter, Brianna Florer, died in 2015 after accidentally ingesting a small “button battery.” The battery acid ate through her carotid artery by way of her esophagus.
The child’s death brought attention to battery safety.
Some common products that contain button batteries are remote controls, garage door openers, bathroom scales, toys, cameras, watches, calculators, digital thermometers, hearing aids, singing greeting cards, talking books, flash, and penlights, flashing shoes, toothbrushes, bedwetting monitors, key chains and flashing or lighted jewelry or attire.
