Abusive Babysitter Causes Brain Bleed in 7-Year-Old Girl During English Language Lessons, Blames it on Cartwheels: Police
Aug. 3 2023, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
A babysitter in Florida claimed that a 7-year-old’s severe head injuries were from doing cartwheels, but then the girl told staff at the hospital it was all a lie, RadarOnline.com has learned.
On July 29, Leonor Garcia, 62, was babysitting the 7-year-old girl all day at her apartment near Cutler Bay, as Front Page Detectives reported.
That evening, the girl reportedly told Garcia she had a headache, so Garcia called the girl’s mother to come pick her up, police said.
Once her mother arrived, Garcia told her about the cartwheels, saying the girl had repeatedly attempted to perform the gymnastics move but kept falling and hitting her head. Garcia then suggested taking the girl to the hospital, which the mother agreed to do, WPLG reported.
At the hospital, the victim was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, a type of brain bleed, officials said. Doctors had to perform surgery in order to drain fluid from her brain.
The victim also had a black eye, bruises on her shoulder and swelling on the right side of her face, authorities said.
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On the way back to surgery, the girl reportedly told a nurse that the gymnastics story was a lie and she was actually being beaten with a metal spoon, remote control and phone, according to WPLG.
According to authorities, Garcia had been teaching the victim, a native Spanish speaker, how to speak English. When the girl failed to properly translate words from Spanish to English, she would get hit.
The victim told authorities that Garcia hit her 13 times that day and Garcia asked her not to tell anyone that she hit her.
When talking with police, Garcia denied any claims of abuse but couldn’t explain how the girl was hurt.
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On July 31, Garcia was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a charge of aggravated child abuse causing great bodily harm, police said.
She was granted and posted $7,500 bond and is due back in court on Aug. 30 for her arraignment, officials said.