Editor’s note: This story has been updated. The latest developments appear at the bottom.
BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — A Boca Raton couple was arrested after an incident involving a child that police say escalated from a family argument into physical discipline involving mouthwash, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the Boca Raton Police Department.
Robert DeBlasio, 51, and his wife, Angel DeBlasio, 45, were both charged with child abuse without great bodily harm following their arrests early Wednesday morning. Officers responded to an apartment at the 5300 block of Town Bay Drive around 3 a.m. on October 30 after reports of a missing child.
According to the police report, officers located the child inside the home and spoke with him about what happened. The child told police he left the house the night before after a verbal argument “that turned physical” involving both adults. The affidavit states that the altercation began over a disagreement about the child’s medication and new school enrollment.
The child told investigators that after he pushed Angel to get her attention, she called for Robert, who then held the child down on the couch while Angel tried to pour mouthwash into his mouth as punishment. Some of the liquid reportedly splashed into his eyes and onto his face.
Both Robert and Angel gave similar accounts to police, admitting to holding the child down and attempting to pour mouthwash into his mouth, according to the report.
Officers concluded that Robert “willfully abused” the child by committing an intentional act that could cause mental injury, citing Florida Statute 827.03(2)(c). Both were arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center.
Court records show the couple appeared before a judge Friday morning for their first appearance. The judge found probable cause for both arrests and released each on their own recognizance (ROR) with several conditions, including a no-contact order with the victim. In Angel DeBlasio’s case, the order specifies no contact with minor children pending Department of Children and Families (DCF) approval.
The court scheduled a follow-up hearing for December 4, 2025, giving prosecutors time to formally file charges.
UPDATE – January 14, 2026 — 5:03 PM (ET)
Court records show the charge was later reviewed by the State Attorney’s Office and no criminal charges were filed. In its no-file determination, prosecutors wrote that “although there was probable cause to make an arrest, the evidence cannot prove all legally required elements of the crime alleged and is insufficient to support a criminal prosecution”
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