Florida mother arrested after her 10-year-old daughter missed 33 days of school

Cocoa, Florida. – A Florida woman was arrested after police said she kept her child home from school for weeks without an excuse.

A Brevard County Sheriff's deputy executed a warrant and arrested 34-year-old Brittany Nicole Messineo in Cocoa on Wednesday.

According to the Brevard County School District, Messineo allowed her 10-year-old child to be absent from school for 33 days without an excuse during a 90-day period between January 23, 2024, and April 23, 2024.

The district also said the girl had 79 unexcused absences during the 2022-2023 school year and 102 during the 2021-2022 school year.

When executing the arrest warrant, an officer said, “she noticed a plastic bag containing a white-bluish substance in the defendant's chest area.”

Messineo handed over the bag.

The officer conducted a substance test and reported that the result was positive for fentanyl.

Messineo was arrested and taken to the Brevard County Jail.

She is charged with drug possession and a misdemeanor for failing to require her child to attend school.

As of Friday morning, Messineo was still behind bars.