BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A former employee at a daycare facility in north Bexar County was arrested and charged with injuring a child, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday, deputies responded to Kidus Child Care in north Bexar County.
The sheriff’s office said investigators reviewed surveillance video from inside a classroom, which showed then-employee Veronica Jimenez “forcefully grabbing a child by the arm, causing the child to strike their head on classroom furniture and fall to the floor.”
BCSO released surveillance video of the incident on Thursday night, which showed the child knocking over a shelf over before Jimenez injured the child.
WARNING: The video shows a child head injury and may be difficult to watch. Viewer discretion is advised.
According to Jimenez’s arrest affidavit, the child’s mother told a BCSO investigator that she was told her son was running around a classroom and had hit his head after falling.
However, the affidavit said that the child later told his mother that “Ms. Jimenez hurt me” outside of the daycare facility.
The mother then informed the daycare employees of what her child had said. The affidavit states that the employees told her they would contact the daycare owner to review classroom footage.
The child was medically evaluated for a head injury at a local urgent care center. A doctor mentioned to the mother that the child needed to visit an emergency room to get stitches, court documents said.
According to the affidavit, the mother later returned to the daycare and reviewed the classroom footage herself. She then immediately contacted 911, the warrant states.
The daycare facility’s management terminated Jimenez after reviewing the video and contacting authorities.
Investigators also interviewed Jimenez but “determined that Jimenez’s initial account of the incident was inconsistent with the video evidence,” the sheriff’s office said.
Jimenez, 50, was arrested and booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a charge of injury to a child - reckless bodily injury, which is a state jail felony.
Jimenez was later released from the Bexar County jail on Wednesday on a $30,000 bond, records show.
In a statement sent to KSAT Thursday evening, Kidus Child Care said it is cooperating with law enforcement’s investigation.
We are aware of the incident involving a former employee of our center. As soon as the matter came to our attention, we took immediate administrative action, including removing the individual from duty, and followed required reporting procedures by notifying Texas Child Care Licensing.
Law enforcement then conducted their investigation, and we have cooperated fully throughout the process.
Because this matter involves children and an active investigation, we cannot comment further or provide additional details. The safety and well-being of the children in our care is our highest priority.
Kidus Child Care
Read also: