Florida day care worker arrested after video shows her smacking, tossing toddlers, police say
A Florida day care worker has been arrested after surveillance video showed her tossing children around, according to police.
Katherine Weitz, 65, was arrested on felony child abuse charges after a manager at Dream City Academy in central Florida discovered the disturbing video, police said.
An officer with the Ormond Beach Police Department, located about 60 miles northeast of Orlando, detailed the footage in an interview with ABC affiliate WFTV on Wednesday.
He said some of the abuse occurred while the young victims were napping.
"There was shaking (and) a couple of kids being smacked during nap time," said Keith Walker of the Ormond Beach Police Department. "Some of the kids, she palmed the back of their heads with her hands and pushed them face forward in their cots."
One video released by the department appeared to show a woman hitting a child in the face.
"We found over 30 incidents that could be considered child abuse to at least four different children," he added.
The incident came to light when a Dream City Academy office manager started to have suspicions about how the children were being treated. They said they heard heard the toddlers crying and checked the surveillance footage, which brought the incident to light, according to WFTV.
Dream City Academy did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The suspect was hired as a full-time employee with the day care just days before the alleged abuse took place, sources told WFTV. Police said she passed a background check.
Weitz was released on $30,000 bond as of late Wednesday evening. She is scheduled for arraignment on Tuesday, court records show.
James Feuerstein, the Orlando-based attorney listed as representing her, did not immediately respond to ABC News’ email request for comment.
