MIAMI, FL - On Wednesday, February 4, a girl took the stand in a Florida courtroom and accused her babysitter of hitting her with a metal spoon and remote control if she misstated a word during English language lessons.
The alleged beatings were so bad that the girl, then seven, had to have emergency surgery to alleviate a brain bleed, Law & Crime reported. The babysitter, 65-year-old Leonor Garcia, is on trial for child abuse with great bodily harm, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
The incident occurred on July 29, 2023, when the victim spent the day at Garcia's home. The babysitter called the girl's mother shortly before 8:00 p.m. to say that the girl was injured while doing cartwheels and needed to go to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital and being looked at, doctors determined she had a subdural hematoma.
They had to perform surgery to drain fluid from the girl's brain. The young girl later told detectives that Garcia beat her at least 13 times with a metal spoon, remote control or a phone when she incorrectly translated a word from Spanish to English. Garcia allegedly told the girl to blame the injuries on a fall from doing cartwheels, which she called a "lie."
"I tried to cry, but she would tell me not to because if I cried she would tell me she was going to hit me," the girl testified. "One time, she threatened me with, like, pliers, and if I told my mother anything, she was going to pull my eye out."
In addition to the brain bleed, she also suffered a black eye and bruises on her shoulder. A pediatrician testified that the girl's injuries were not consistent with suffering a fall. "Our opinion was that it was physical abuse," Dr. Walter Lambert told jurors. The trial remains on going.
The alleged beatings were so bad that the girl, then seven, had to have emergency surgery to alleviate a brain bleed, Law & Crime reported. The babysitter, 65-year-old Leonor Garcia, is on trial for child abuse with great bodily harm, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit.
The incident occurred on July 29, 2023, when the victim spent the day at Garcia's home. The babysitter called the girl's mother shortly before 8:00 p.m. to say that the girl was injured while doing cartwheels and needed to go to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital and being looked at, doctors determined she had a subdural hematoma.
They had to perform surgery to drain fluid from the girl's brain. The young girl later told detectives that Garcia beat her at least 13 times with a metal spoon, remote control or a phone when she incorrectly translated a word from Spanish to English. Garcia allegedly told the girl to blame the injuries on a fall from doing cartwheels, which she called a "lie."
"I tried to cry, but she would tell me not to because if I cried she would tell me she was going to hit me," the girl testified. "One time, she threatened me with, like, pliers, and if I told my mother anything, she was going to pull my eye out."
In addition to the brain bleed, she also suffered a black eye and bruises on her shoulder. A pediatrician testified that the girl's injuries were not consistent with suffering a fall. "Our opinion was that it was physical abuse," Dr. Walter Lambert told jurors. The trial remains on going.
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