'Hitting children with the spoon': 3 day care workers accused of smacking young kids and 'torturing' them until they 'expected it'

Three Florida time attraction workers are accused of hitting and "torturing" children successful their attraction truthful often that the kids "expected it" — and past trying to fell the evidence.

Nativia King, 50, Stacy Hamilton Jackson, 66, and Kia Walker, 52, are each charged with third-degree tampering with a witness, portion King and Jackson look 3 counts of first-degree aggravated child abuse and Walker faces 1 number of first-degree aggravated kid abuse.

According to apprehension affidavits obtained by Law&Crime, the probe began connected the greeting of Jan. 16, erstwhile the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Rockledge Police Department responded to Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center successful Rockledge, Florida, owed to claims of kid abuse. DCF investigators submitted a study with allegations stating, "All the teachers deed the children arsenic a signifier of punishment. The teachers either deed with unfastened hands oregon a woody spoon. This is simply a communal signifier of punishment for this facility."

Once officers arrived astatine the day care center, they observed a surveillance strategy with cameras pointing astatine the classrooms and facilities, the tribunal records state. However, according to the affidavits, erstwhile asked to spot the footage, Walker "immediately started to enactment defensively and advised that she did not person the password."

Walker continued to beryllium noncompliant, authorities contend, refusing to telephone her technician and not allowing officers to instrumentality the video astatine that moment. The apprehension affidavits stated that officers ended up removing the video surveillance strategy "as it is pertinent grounds for the case, and the video could perchance beryllium destroyed if the strategy was near nether Ms. Walker's custody."

In the ensuing days and weeks, investigators secured hunt warrants for the applicable video — with footage stretching from Dec. 19, 2025, to Jan. 16, 2026, the affidavits say. Multiple rooms of the time attraction could beryllium seen, on with classrooms, offices, and playground areas.

On the greeting of Dec. 19, 2025, King "could beryllium observed successful video surveillance, willfully and intentionally hitting aggregate children successful the backmost of the head, causing them to fall, hitting them successful the face, and pulling their ears," the affidavit for King states. "The suspect tin beryllium seen leaving the children unsupervised connected aggregate occasions."

The papers goes on, astatine length:

The suspect was besides observed grabbing the backmost of the cervix of a pistillate child, arsenic she pushed the kid into a unsighted corner, hiding from the cameras. Moments later, 1 could observe the kid coming backmost arsenic they seemed visibly upset. The children appeared to beryllium intimidated by the defendant, arsenic they hid erstwhile she got adjacent to them. At nary constituent is the suspect observed doing immoderate activities oregon providing attraction for the children; she promotes unit and presents assertive behaviour during those hours. The suspect inflicted intelligence and carnal wounded connected the victims.

On the greeting of Jan. 15, 2026, King allegedly "grabbed" a kid "by the hair" successful an assertive mode and "pushed him against the floor, portion shaking him." The kid was "crying and successful distress," the affidavit for her apprehension went on. "Within the aforesaid clip frame, 1 could observe the suspect approaching different toddler child, and for nary evident reason, she willfully and intentionally strikes him successful the face."

That aforesaid day, the affidavit states, Walker could beryllium seen successful the video "poking a kid with her digit successful the forehead" arsenic Jackson walks around, "hitting children with the spoon."

The pursuing day, Jackson reportedly entered a schoolroom "holding a ample black-colored spoon." She proceeded to attack a kid and "hit [her] connected her close leg" with it. The kid appeared afraid, the affidavit said, arsenic Jackson "willfully and aggressively swung the spoon," hitting the kid "in the cervix and causing her to fall."

Jackson allegedly past near the then-crying kid unattended earlier placing her successful a seat and slapping different kid "on the broadside of his head, causing him to fall."

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That was the time that the DCF and constabulary officers arrived astatine the facility, and the affidavits authorities that arsenic they arrived, surveillance footage showed "the 3 suspects looking done the window." The affidavits assertion that the defendants were "obstructing the probe by preventing the children from conducting further interviews, attempting to rip the cables of the video surveillance system, and concealing the entity the kids described getting deed with."

They each "denied hitting the children," the affidavits added.

"In galore videos, 1 could spot the suspects either hitting the children oregon witnessing the acts of violence," the documents add. "The children had adapted to the unit of the time care, and they expected it arsenic a communal behaviour from the teachers. Almost each clip the suspects were captured connected video, they seemed aggravated and were torturing the children for nary evident reason, causing them to cry, flinch, and beryllium scared."

The ages of the children ranged from 1 to 4 years old, Orlando-based ABC affiliate WFTV reported, and the documents authorities that "a batch of them cannot talk for themselves oregon explicate the abuse." According to 1 affidavit, instrumentality enforcement "received aggregate complaints from parents stating the suspects had reached retired to them oregon their spot of employment, to forestall them from making a statement."

The metropolis of Rockledge asked Friday for "any families who judge their children whitethorn person been a unfortunate of a transgression portion attending Gingerbread Manor Child Care" to interaction the police, noting the probe was active.

Walker was reportedly Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center's director, with a societal media connection from the time attraction halfway successful the aftermath of the charges being filed stating, "yesterday, the Brevard County justice instantly dismissed the unfounded and malicious complaint of aggravated kid maltreatment against" Walker, per the section outlet.

"The meritless quality of this mendacious accusation became evident astatine the earliest signifier of ineligible proceedings," the connection went on, with the installation threatening "legal recourse against those who filed mendacious reports." However, tribunal records inactive amusement Walker is facing 1 aggravated kid maltreatment charge.

King and Walker person arraignments scheduled for March 3, portion Jackson's was canceled for that time and is acceptable to beryllium rescheduled.