MIAMI, FLORIDA: A Florida babysitter who repeatedly maltreated a young girl over the weekend, is facing a felony charge for severely injuring the child, authorities said. The details of the allegation come from the report of a Miami-Dade Police Department, says local ABC affiliate WPLG.
The authorities stated that the victim, a seven-year-old girl, had been with the accused, Leonor Garcia, 62, all day long on Saturday, July 29, at the defendant’s apartment on Southwest 216th Street, near Cutler Bay.
Who is Leonor Garcia?
Garcia is accused of one count of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, according to Miami-Dade County court records. An MDPD officer reportedly wrote that the victim told her babysitter she had a headache, at some point that day. As a result, Garcia called the girl’s mother to come and pick her up and when she arrived, the defendant reportedly told the story about cartwheels, claiming that the 7-year-old had repeatedly attempted to perform the gymnastics move but fell and injured her head. The babysitter then suggested the victim's mother take her to a hospital to which she agreed.
What happened to the girl?
Doctors diagnosed the girl with a severe brain bleed known as a subdural hematoma as per the police in the Sunshine State. Authorities penned in the report obtained by the TV station that the injury needed surgery to drain fluid from the child’s brain. Moreover, the girl also suffered a black eye, bruised shoulders, and swelling on the right side of her face.
What did the victim say?
The victim said Garcia’s story about gymnastics was a “lie” and alleged that she was instead physically punished for her lack of progress during language lessons.
The girl, a native Spanish speaker, was being taught English by the babysitter on that day. According to the report, Garcia would hit her every time she failed to properly translate a word from Spanish into English. The abuse continued in different ways, sometimes the babysitter would hit her in the head with a remote control, sometimes with a metal spoon, or with a phone, the victim said in the report.
The girl told police Garcia hit her 13 times on Saturday. The girl allegedly added that the babysitter asked her to keep the abuse a secret. Garcia, as anyone would expect, denied the allegations when asked by the police. The report said the babysitter could not explain how the child left her home with such injuries.
Garcia was apprehended on Monday, quickly booked into jail, and nearly as quickly was granted and posted a $7,500 bond after a hearing the same day of her arrest. She is due back in court for an arraignment slated for August 30.
