Police: Day care worker hit toddler, charged with abuse

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Deerwood day care worker is behind bars on child abuse charges and her former boss is outraged over videotape that shows her hitting a small child in the daycare, hard enough the boy needed staples.

Chappell School called police immediately after the incident and according to the arrest report, Brenn Smith, 27, denied hitting the child. Then she was shown videotape showing her striking the boy on the back of the head with an open hand hard enough the child then hit his head on the edge of a wooden door.

When Chappell School's CEO, Nancy Dreicer, saw the video, she fired Smith (pictured below) on the spot.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Brenn Smith

"It was not a serious injury but anybody who touches a child, to me, it's serious," Dreicer said.

Dreicer is CEO of the school which has been in Jacksonville for 57 years with the Deerwood campus being in Jacksonville since the 80s. Dreicer said she was outraged when she saw Smith (pictured in Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo) hit a child on their surveillance cameras.

"She initially lied about what happened. Said, ‘It was you, you,' the camera doesn't lie. We saw it, she confessed," Dreicer said.

The day care called police immediately and Smith was arrested for child abuse. Now the Department of Children and Families in investigating.

"No major violations over the past couple years. They've been open since 1987. They've got a capacity of more than 200 children and are licensed to have that many. They haven't been any major problems with this facility," DCF spokesperson John Harrell said. 

Smith is not the child's regular teacher, but an assistant who briefly watches children when teachers need a break. Dreicer said Smith passed a background check and has never had any disciplinary problems.

Dreicer is not holding back her feelings and wants Smith prosecuted. She also wants stricter laws for childcare workers to make sure if Smith ends up not being convicted, that she doesn't get another childcare job down the road.

"The employee said it was an accident," Dreicer said. "We went right back to the camera. We looked at it on camera. We fired the employee on the spot. We could not believe that it happened and our main concern is that this employee is prosecuted to fullest extent of the law and never works in childcare again."

Dreicer said that the laws need to be changed as well because often times it is the day care that takes the brunt of the responsibility when something like this happens.

"I really want to see the laws change because the provider gets hit, and we'll get, I'm sure, hit for having this happen on our premises, and we'll take responsibility for that. But many times the employee can go right down the street and get another job in childcare. And that is wrong," Dreicer said.  

News4Jax was told the the little boy did have to get four staples put in his head but the boy's grandparents, who are his guardians, have a good relationship with the center and plan to return the child to school on Thursday.

Smith was charged with felony child abuse and remains in the Duval County jail. 


About the Author:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.