A Nassau County daycare worker has been accused of child abuse after surveillance footage from the daycare center she worked at appeared to show "aggressively" mishandling several children. Kimberly McNatt, 31, of Callahan, was arrested following an investigation that began with a complaint from a concerned mother, according to News4JAX.
The Nassau County Sheriff's Office, as detailed by Sheriff Bill Leeper, swiftly acted to "protect them from this kind of heinous abuse," after seeing the footage which showed McNatt harshly handling the toddlers. The surveillance video, which NCSO released publicly, showed McNatt forcibly pushing kids' heads into the ground, yanking a child’s legs, and covering a child completely with a blanket. "Children are our most vulnerable population, and I will do everything in my power to protect them," Leeper stated to News4JAX.
The investigation initiated when the mother of one of the affected children reported her child had suffered a split lip at Early Impressions at Midtown Preschool during nap time. Previous bruises on the child's back and head triggered further concern, leading to McNatt’s firing from the daycare. A detailed account was provided by First Coast News, which stated that the toddler's injuries were significant enough to cause bleeding onto the mattress.
After her arrest, McNatt was held at Nassau County Jail & Detention Center but has since been released on bond. Arrest reports also revealed that McNatt made spontaneous admissions upon being shown the footage by investigators. However, in a statement to Jacksonville.com, McNatt claimed, "Everybody is just looking at the video," implying there was potentially more to the story.
