A Florida daycare worker has been fired after she was seen on surveillance video mistreating a child with disabilities in her care at the facility.
Kaitlyn Pitzer, 36, was charged with one count of child abuse after the incident.
The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said it was called about the incident by Tender Care Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care administration about the incident on Thursday. Deputies were shown video from the classroom.
The video showed Pitzer and another aide trying to put a bandage on the 11-year-old child’s forehead. The child leaned forward, and Pitzer “forcefully pushed the child’s forehead, causing the child’s body to jerk backward in a manner that appeared violent and excessive.”
Not long after that incident, the video showed Pitzer “taunting the child with a piece of cake.” The child reached out a brushed the icing with their finger, and “Pitzer, visibly frustrated, took the child’s finger and smeared the icing across the child’s face.”
“She then picked up icing that had fallen on the floor and aggressively rubbed it onto the child’s forehead,” the sheriff’s office said. “Pitzer proceeded to wet a paper towel, approach the child from behind, and forcefully wipe the icing from the child’s face, causing visible distress. The child is seen immediately moving away from Pitzer in an attempt to separate from her.”
Moments later, with the child standing by the trash can where the cake had been thrown away, Pitzer abruptly grabbed the chald and dragged them a hand sanitizer dispenser, then applied the sanitizer to the child’s hands and arms, including areas that had open wounds, again causing the child to run across the room in distress.
Detectives showed the video to the child’s parents, who said that when Pitzer shoved the child backward, the child’s pre-existing medical conditions could have caused serious injuries. The parents also said the the wounds on the child’s arms, which had been scabbing, opened and began bleeding again after the incidents.
Detectives eventually spoke directly with Pitzer, who told them that she had been “frustrated that day” and said that “her behavior was inappropriate,” saying she knew the hand sanitizer would hurt the child “but did not care at the time.”
“Pitzer further admitted to smearing cake on the child’s face and said she thought it was ‘funny’ in the moment,” the sheriff’s office said.
Pitzer was arrested after “detectives determined that the child is a vulnerable victim with documented medical conditions, and the actions captured on the video clearly fell outside the boundaries of appropriate and lawful care.”
She was given a $5,000 bond.
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[Featured image: Kaitlyn Pitzer/Hernando County Sheriff’s Office]
