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Childcare workers arrested after Snapchat video taunting 8-yr-old boy

Childcare workers face serious charges after video
Posted at 7:56 PM, Sep 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-22 19:56:49-04

The two childcare workers accused of taunting and hitting an 8-year-old boy with autism turned themselves in to Winter Haven police on Friday, after the event was caught on video in a social media app.

RELATED: Childcare workers caught on video berating, taunting 8YO child with autism turn themselves in

The video, seen on Snapchat, shows one of the women laughing and taunting the boy at Our Children's Academy in Winter Haven.

The other, laughs as she videotapes the other hitting and throwing a backpack at the boy, hitting him in the face.

Now 26-year-old Kadderrica Smith and 20-year-old Alexus Henderson each face separate charges. Smith faces a battery and child abuse charge, while Henderson faces a child neglect charge.

Henderson bonded out of jail on Friday, shortly after her arrest.

Smith appeared before a Polk County judge Friday afternoon where he gave her a $5,000 bond with a condition to stay away from the school and not be in contact with minors.

An attorney for Smith says she has three children and works as a little league cheerleading coach.

"This little boy didn't deserve that," said Timothy Ratliff, whose son went to the academy for a year.

Ratliff says his decision to change his son to a different school came after he found his son across the street, unsupervised when he went to pick him up one day. He says school staff had no idea his son was missing.

Now he hopes this video will send a stern message to school staff.

"You've got to find people that want to be there," he said, "and have that drive to see these kids succeed."

An attorney for the academy told ABC Action News that both Henderson and Smith had passed state background checks and completed the required certification in August.

He says the school has made changes to the after school program, where the incident occurred, however wouldn't go into detail about what specific changes were made.