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Seminole grandmother arrested after reporting child abuse claims

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole County grandmother told Channel 9 she was handcuffed and thrown in jail because she reported child abuse claims.

But deputies said 63-year-old Oradell Lee abused the state hotline and wasted investigators time. She was charged with five counts of making a false report.

Lee told WFTV she's never been arrested before and she'll continue to call the hotline even though no evidence of abuse has been found. She's been calling because she believes her granddaughter and the people she lives with are hitting her 6- and 8-year-old great-grandchildren.

"They say they can't find any signs of abuse. They never investigated, they never asked anybody else," Lee said.

The people Lee made the allegations against told investigators they've never hurt the kids. Deputies said they discovered Lee has called the abuse hotline dozens of times since the 1990s and none of the reports has been substantiated, so they took her to jail.

"When I got there, I mean I was treated like a criminal all the way," Lee said.

Lee said she is just a concerned grandmother who wanted reassurance that the children were OK. She's now facing a felony record.