Teacher caught on video slapping 1-year-old at a Brickell preschool, Miami police say
A teacher was arrested after she was caught on security footage slapping one of the babies while changing his diaper at a preschool in Brickell, according to Miami police.
Odeity Perez Barrios, a teacher at Brickell Heights Preschool, faces a charge of child abuse with no great bodily harm, Miami-Dade County court records show. The 48-year-old Miami resident has since been released from the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond.
Around noon Tuesday, the mother of a one-year-old boy noticed a visible red mark on his left thigh that appeared to be caused by a slap, according to Perez Barrios’ police report. The parents then took the toddler to a doctor, who confirmed the mark was “consistent with an open handprint making contact with the child using some force in order to leave the fingers marked.”
Security footage reviewed by investigators shows Perez Barrios striking the boy several times with an open hand while changing his diaper at the school, located at 25 SW Ninth St., just minutes before his mom noticed the red mark.
Police on Tuesday detained Perez Barrios, who told them that she had to hold the child tight so he wouldn’t fall out of the changing station, according to detectives. When Perez Barrios was shown video of the incident, she told investigators she didn’t remember hitting the boy, according to the report. Perez Barrios was then arrested and taken to jail.
Neither Perez Barrios’ defense attorney nor the school immediately responded to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.
Her arraignment hearing is set for Jan. 26, court records show.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 8:42 PM.
