She abused her adopted children, cops say, and beat one with a dog chain and pliers

A Santa Rosa County woman is charged with severely beating one of her adopted children. 

Patricia Hyler, 47, was arrested and charged Friday with aggravated child abuse. Additional child abuse-related charges are expected to be filed later this week, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said. 

Johnson called this one of the worst child abuse cases he’s seen in his 38-year career. “I’ve seen a lot of bad things,” Johnson said during Monday’s press conference, “but this is pretty bad.” 

Deputies allege Hyler beat the 14-year-old boy with a dog chain, chipped his teeth with pliers as well as cut his arms and head. She also forced the teen to sleep on a dirty concrete floor and bathed him with a hose in the front yard, they said. 

“As a father it pisses me off,” Johnson said. “... Somebody that can do that to another human is bad enough but you start doing that to a child? We take it personally.” Hyler adopted four children — all of whom Johnson said were abused — but took a “special interest” in the 14-year-old the Florida Department of Children and Families called a “target child.” 

The 47-year-old and her husband brought the teen into their home in the Panhandle town of Pace, Florida, seven and a half years ago. 

“She abused this child pretty severely and then took him out of school, home schooled him for two years because she knew if she sent him to school, obviously someone would report it,” Johnson said. It’s unclear whether the additional charges will be for abusing her other three kids. 

Johnson didn’t expect Hyler’s spouse to face any charges. The husband worked long hours and their evidence doesn’t suggest he was involved in the abuse, the sheriff said. Deputies began investigating the case after one of Hyler’s adopted children notified someone who later contacted the authorities. 

They also interviewed two adopted individuals who had grown up in her house and since left. Both described similar episodes of abuse, according to Johnson. All four children are in DCF custody, Johnson said. Hyler is being held in a Santa Rosa jail without bond.