Preschool worker pinched 3-year-old boy with autism in the groin, claimed mom gave her permission to ‘punish him’: Police

A preschool worker punished a 3-year-old boy with autism who was horsing around with another student by pinching his groin area and pulling him by his ear, Florida deputies said.

Keoni Ellis, 28, is facing a charge of cruelty to children without great bodily harm, court records say. According to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime, the Department of Children and Families called the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office to the CHILD Center for Early Learning shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday for a possible child abuse case that occurred the day before.

Ellis was in a classroom supervising several children with autism. In the incident captured on surveillance video, the victim and another student appeared to be messing around. Ellis allegedly walked over to the victim and crouched down before pinching him in the groin/upper thigh area. The boy “immediately” backed away from Ellis and started rubbing the area where she pinched him, the affidavit says. He then further distances himself from Ellis and “sits with his legs crossed as if he is in a state of discomfort,” the affidavit said.

About a minute later, the students go back to horseplaying. Ellis reportedly approached the victim again and grabbed him “by what appears to be his ear and shoulder” and pulled him away. The student looked to be in pain, the affidavit said.

Post-Miranda, Ellis told detectives she knows the mother and she gave her permission to “punish him by pinching him,” the affidavit said. Deputies showed Ellis the video but she denied pinching the boy in the groin, saying she just touched him and whispered in his ear that she would tell his mother he was misbehaving.

Detectives noted the boy suffered minor injuries to his left arm and neck. They took her to the Alachua County Jail where she has since posted a $5,000 bond, court records show.

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