A southwest Miami-Dade daycare teacher is facing a child-abuse charge after deputies said a classroom tantrum ended with a 2-year-old being lifted by the wrist, grabbed around the neck and shaken. The boy was later found with a mark on his neck and bruising on his cheek, according to the allegations. The teacher was arrested Monday, turning a daycare incident into a criminal case involving one of the county’s youngest alleged victims.
The incident unfolded around 10 a.m. Monday at a Lincoln Marti center in southwest Miami-Dade, according to an arrest report described by Local 10’s report. Deputies said Beatriz Gomez-Hurtado, 53, of Homestead, was responding after the child misbehaved and then lay on the classroom floor during a “temper tantrum.” Investigators allege she lifted him by the wrist, stood him up, placed both hands around his neck and face, shook him several times and then put him in a timeout chair.
What The Child-Abuse Charge Means
Florida law defines child abuse to include intentionally inflicting physical or mental injury on a child, or committing an act that could reasonably be expected to cause such injury. Under Florida’s child-abuse statute, knowingly or willfully abusing a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement is generally a third-degree felony. The charge is an allegation, not a finding of guilt.
The child reportedly suffered a mark on the right side of his neck and bruising on his left cheek. Gomez-Hurtado invoked her right to remain silent, and Local 10 reported that she was being held at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond as of Tuesday morning.
A Previous Lincoln Marti Abuse Case
The arrest is not the first recent child-abuse case tied to a Lincoln Marti facility. In a previous Lincoln Marti case, a different teacher was arrested after authorities said surveillance footage showed her grabbing, shaking, dragging and slapping a 2-year-old girl at another Southwest Miami-Dade campus.
Lincoln Marti Schools had not responded publicly to the latest allegations in the reporting available Tuesday. Local 10 said it had contacted the school system and was awaiting a response, while any future court proceedings will determine how the case moves forward.
