HENDRY COUNTY: A woman who cared for several children in her home for years is now faces charges of battery, neglect and abuse.
It was a place where children went to play, but what one mother says happened there gives her little girl nightmares.
"She actually wakes up in the night still crying," said Elba Santamaria through a translator.
Santamaria didn’t want her daughter identified, but wants to share her story.
Santamaria described how her daughter looked last week when she picked her up from day care at Rosa Betancourt’s house.
"She was blue and purple and looked like someone had hit her in the face," said Santamaria.
Doctors at the clinic that treated her said the same thing and called Hendry County Deputies. They say Betancourt was responsible.
"She didn't want to think that until she actually got the results from the doctors. Then it finally hit her that her daughter had been beaten by the person who's supposed to be taking care of her," said Santamaria through a translator.
Betancourt didn’t wish to speak with us.
"Her lawyer told her not to talk," said Santamaria.
Deputies say she confessed to hitting the child and shaking her violently.
Betancourt was arrested Friday and bonded out of jail.
"It feels horrible. The good thing is we're told she's no longer a daycare provider. They shut her down," said Santamaria.
Reply With Quote
2 Member(s) thanked for this post
Bookmarks