A Florida daycare worker has been arrested after she allegedly abused an infant several times, causing the child to suffer a brain bleed.
Alyssa Thompson has been charged with one count of aggravated child abuse.
Thompson, 30, was arrested on Monday, May 4, following several incidents that took place on different days in April at Wee Care Too, a daycare facility located in Lake City.
Authorities with the Lake City Police Department launched an investigation into Thompson on April 20 after they received a report that a child had “a medical episode consisting of seizures, being lethargic, and having a fever,” according to an arrest report viewed by Law & Crime.
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The child began to have seizures while at the hospital and was transported to a pediatric care center in Gainesville to additional treatment.
The daycare center director later reviewed surveillance footage and told law enforcement that “she found some inappropriate behavior on behalf” of Thompson, per the charging documents. (Thompson worked at the location for three months.)
“I observed Alyssa Thompson forcefully tossing [the infant] into a bouncy chair hitting her head on the metal bar of the bouncy chair,” the arrest report stated. “In the video you can see her head jerk forward from the force of her head hitting the bar. On that same day approximately 20 minutes later she snatches [the infant] out of the crib and drops her onto the changing table. When she drops her on to the changing table it is from a significant height where [the infant’s] head bounces off of the changing table multiple times.”
The footage also showed Thompson changing the infant, in which the little girl “appears to be limp and not moving” when she was lifted up from the table.
Law enforcement said the incident caught on tape was not the first time Thompson allegedly hurt the child.
A doctor at the pediatric hospital said the girl “had a skull fracture and brain bleeding,” which they did not believe came “from one singular event.”
Police said that “several other instances of child abuse were viewed” on April 13.
Thompson was seen “snatching and tossing” the child onto the changing table before she picked the girl up, spun her around and dropped her on the table, according to the charging document. The little girl’s head was “seen bouncing off” the table’s wooden rails, while Thompson also allegedly picked “her up from under the arms and rams her head into the wooden rail of the changing table.”
Additionally, the charging document recounted several instances in which Thompson allegedly pushed, hit and shook a foam chair the girl was sitting in as she seemingly tried to get “some type of response.”
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Thompson is currently being held at Columbia County Jail without bond, according to records viewed by Us Weekly. It is not currently clear if she has entered a plea or retained legal counsel.
Wee Care Too also issued a public statement via Facebook on Tuesday, May 5, noting they took “immediate action” to “remove the individual from our team.”
The daycare center contacted “The Department of Children and Families and law enforcement that day,” adding, “Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, we are limited in what we can share publicly, but please know this: we are here, we are listening, and we are committed to doing what is right.”
The Lake City Police Department did not immediately respond to Us’ request for comment regarding the case.
