Florida day care worker caught on video abusing 1-year-old: authorities
A Florida day care worker has been charged with child abuse after getting caught on disturbing surveillance video manhandling a 1-year-old and dropping him.
Yamirka Menendez, 51, is accused of grabbing the toddler by his wrists, swinging him three feet into the air and dropping him on the floor — fracturing the boy’s leg, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a release.
Menendez is also charged with “forcibly” grabbing a 4-month-old and slapping the baby several times at the Time of Wonder Academy in Tampa on Sept. 8, the sheriff’s office said.
Another staffer, Milagros Rodriguez, 52, was charged with failing to report child abuse.
According to the sheriff, the mother of the 1-year-old victim noticed her son had pain in his left foot the following day and took him to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was diagnosed with fractures to his tibia and fibula.
On Thursday, the toddler was re-examined by the University of South Florida Child Protection Team, which determined he was a victim of physical abuse.
Detectives reviewed the video and charged the two women on Tuesday.
Neither had a criminal history, the sheriff’s office said.
