Jazmine Torres: Texas Daycare Center Worker Arrested For Throwing Child To The Floor [Video]
A Texas daycare worker, Jazmine Torres, was caught on surveillance cameras slamming an 18-month-old toddler face down on the ground to force him to take a nap, Plano police investigators say. Caitlin Gilmore, the toddler’s mother, watched the entire alleged incident of child abuse unfold while watching a live feed from the camera during her lunch break.
Caitlin Gilmore immediately left her Wells Fargo office to go to The Children’s Courtyard and get her son. While rushing to the daycare center, Gilmore’s co-workers filmed the live stream from the surveillance camera footage on their cellphones. The video was shared on Facebook by Gilmore’s co-workers to alert other parents to what was going on at the Plano daycare facility.
The incident happened on Friday, and the video has now been shared more than 800,000 times. Texas records indicate The Children’s Courtyard daycare center has had 28 violations over the past two years. Eight of those violations were serious enough to be considered harmful to a child, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth News reports.
#BREAKING: Jazmine Torres, #Plano daycare worker accused of tossing children to the floor for naptime, is now behind bars. @CBSDFW pic.twitter.com/Sr6tKfcFPh
— Tami Carr (@CarrTamicbs11) April 18, 2017
The initial act of the toddler reportedly being picked up by his arms by Jazmine Torres was not recorded by the mother’s co-workers. Caitlin Gilmore’s co-workers were able to record the second time the 22-year-old daycare worker slammed the young child down onto the nap mat again. Torres was also caught carrying another child under one arm while the Gilmore toddler was standing nearby, the Daily Mail reports. Gilmore’s son was pushed to the floor to make room for the nap mat for the child who was being carried. After the carried child is placed onto a spot on the mat, the Gilmore toddler was put in an adjacent space, the video shows.
https://youtu.be/nEmpiTp4PUA
Gilmore took her son to an area hospital to be checked out by doctors after she collected him from the Plano, Texas daycare. The 18-month-old boy was not injured as a result of the incident at the daycare.
Once Gilmore showed the video footage to the police, an arrest warrant was issued for Jazmine Torres. She has been charged with one felony count of child endangerment or abandoning a child/criminal negligence. Torres is currently being held at the Collin County jail. A $10,000 bond had been set in the case, the Dallas News reports.
Plano police officials have labeled the video footage taken inside The Children’s Courtyard daycare center as “unacceptable.” Torres has reportedly been cooperating with Texas investigators. Daycare workers, much like nurses, lawyers, teachers, and doctors are among a defined group of professionals who must adhere to a higher standard when it comes to reporting potential child abuse.
“Any parent out there, it’s going to be something that’s just horrific. Any human being to see a toddler treated that way is just, that’s just unacceptable,” Plano police representative David Tilley said.
JAZMINE TORRES> Texas Day Care worker AT THE CHILDREN’S COURTYARD Slams Child Face-Down On Ground https://t.co/HcToZYtkFu
— ERIC WRIGHT™???????????????? (@therealeric916) April 18, 2017
The Children’s Courtyard is also cooperating with the law enforcement investigation. Daycare center officials fired Jazmine Torres after watching the video footage. They joined Caitlin Gilmore’s effort to alert the police about the incident, are aiding in the investigation into Jazmine Torres, and conducted an internal investigation as well.
The Plano daycare center’s website states the director’s name is Violet, no last name is noted. In a message posted to the landing page, the director said she has a bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in early childhood development.
The mission statement for the Plano Children’s Courtyard daycare center indicates the facility is focused on providing a “safe and stimulating, nurturing care” environment for children age six weeks to 12 years. The center also claims to be the “number one” back-up child care provider in the Plano area.
[Featured Image by ozgur_oral/Shutterstock]
