Inset: Kaitlyn Pitzer (Hernando County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The day care facility Pitzer was recently fired from in Spring Hill, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida woman is behind bars for abusing an 11-year-old child with disabilities at a day care facility for children with medically complex conditions, Sunshine State law enforcement say.
Kaitlyn Pitzer, 36, stands accused of one count of child abuse, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
The underlying incident occurred on Oct. 9 at the Tender Care PPEC (Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care) facility in Spring Hill — a large, census-designated place located some 50 miles due north of Tampa.
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On the day in question, deputies responded to a report of possible child abuse involving an employee and an 11-year-old child with disabilities, according to a press release issued by the sheriff’s office.
Deputies say the administration at the facility had concerns Pitzer, who had recently been terminated, had “mistreated a child while she was employed with the facility,” according to the sheriff’s office.
In the ensuing investigation, deputies consulted surveillance footage from the same afternoon which first appeared to show the defendant and another aide at the facility trying to put a bandage on the child’s forehead as child sat on the floor, the sheriff’s office says.
“As the child leaned forward, Pitzer forcefully pushed on the child’s forehead, causing the child’s body to jerk backward in a manner that appeared violent and excessive,” the press release reads.
But the alleged mistreatment did not stop there, authorities say.
A few minutes later, the footage showed Pitzer “taunting the child with a piece of cake,” according to the press release.
“When the child reached out and swiped some icing with their finger, Pitzer, visibly frustrated, took the child’s finger and smeared the icing across the child’s face,” the sheriff’s department claims. “She then picked up icing that had fallen on the floor and aggressively rubbed it onto the child’s forehead. 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.”
Next, on the footage, the child immediately moves away from the defendant “in an attempt to separate” from her, law enforcement says.
Still, however, the alleged abuse continued.
Minutes after the icing incident, the footage shows the child standing near a trash can filled with thrown-away cake, investigators say. Then, Pitzer allegedly grabs the child and brings them to a wall-mounted dispenser where she applies hand sanitizer directly to open wounds on the child’s arms, law enforcement claims. After that, the child is seen running away “in distress,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Law enforcement says the child’s parents offered additional context to the harm their child is believed to have suffered.
“During the investigation, detectives made contact with the child’s parent, who expressed significant concern after viewing the surveillance video,” the press release continues. “The parent advised that the force used to shove the child backward could have caused serious injury due to pre-existing medical conditions. The parent also reported that scabbed injuries, which had been in the process of healing, began bleeding again after the incident.”
Detectives went on to confirm the child’s disabilities — noting the victim had “documented medical conditions” which made them particularly vulnerable, according to the sheriff’s office.
The defendant, for her part, allegedly accepted at least some level of culpability for what occurred at her former place of employment.
“While speaking with Pitzer she advised that she had been frustrated that day and acknowledged her behavior was inappropriate,” the sheriff’s office says. “She stated that she knew applying hand sanitizer to the child’s open wounds would cause pain 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.”
Law&Crime reached out to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office for additional details on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming as of this writing.
The public court system in Hernando County does not reflect the charges against Pitzer at present.
The defendant is currently detained in the Hernando County Jail on $5,000 bond.
