MOUNT DORA - A Mount Dora mother was arrested Tuesday after the Department of Children and Families received a report that she was abusing her children.

DCF received a tip Tuesday saying that Kelly Torres, 27, had beaten her children with a belt the previous evening, officials said.

DCF and the Lake County Sheriff's Office investigators interviewed the children at their school, according to an arrest affidavit. The three children said that their mother struck them almost daily.

The two boys, ages 5 and 10, had bruises and welts on their bodies, while the girl, 8, told investigators that she had been spared a spanking the previous evening because it was her birthday.

According to the arrest affidavit, DCF has investigated Torres for similar allegations on nine prior occasions.

When she was interviewed by deputies, Torres denied the accusations but admitted to spanking one child the previous night. She was held at Lake County Jail without bond.

Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel