PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — A worker at a Florida day care center is facing child neglect charges after four toddlers suffered broken legs on the same day.
The Panama City News Herald reports that 25-year-old Christina Marie Curtis was arrested recently after the May 21 incident at Kids Discovery Learning Center in Valparaiso. It wasn’t immediately clear if she has a lawyer to represent her but she was released on $4,000 bail last month.
According to the Panama News Herald, surveillance footage showed Curtis walking with one of the victims, an 18-month-old while holding his hands above his head.
“The defendant stopped and quickly moved her hands to (his) upper arms and rapidly jerked him into the air,” the report said. “When (he) was picked up, his feet and legs were in the air and was dropped feet first into a wagon. Other children were placed in the wagon and it was pulled outside.”
Footage showed that when the child awoke from a nap that followed the wagon ride “the teacher attempted to place him on his feet, however, (he) was unable to bear weight on his legs.”
An arrest report says all four young boys were fine the morning of the incident. Later that day, they were having difficulty standing or walking and medical personnel determined they had all suffered leg fractures.
Under terms of her release, Curtis cannot have unsupervised contact with any child and cannot be employed at child care facilities or schools.
