A daycare teacher in Boca Raton, FL was arrested on January 14, 2020 after breaking a 3-year-old child’s leg because he was misbehaving in class. The teacher is identified as 24-year-old Estefany Acosta.
The encounter was at Early Learning Academy, located at 2300 W. Yamato Road, around 7:15 a.m. on January 10, 2020.
Staff members called the young victim’s family around 11 a.m. claiming the boy sustained a leg injury from kicking a metal chair. The father said he was told his son had a bump on his shin.
When the child’s parents brought the him home, they observed their son sitting down and in a lot of pain. The child was shivering, had urinated on himself and had not eaten.
The boy said he got hurt when his teacher, Estefany Acosta, sat on him because he was misbehaving.
The child’s parents then took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fracture to his right leg.
Boca Raton police and the Department of Children and Families were contacted about the incident, and spoke to the owner of the Early Learning Academy.
Estefany initially said the boy was misbehaving and suffered a leg injury when he kicked a metal chair.
Surveillance video was viewed from the incident, and shows Estefany asking the boy to sit down with other students. When he refused, Estefany physically made him sit down. He then immediately stood back up.
At one point in the video, Estefany grabbed the child by the arm, lifted him off the ground, and carried him across the room.
There was one chair in the room and at no time does the child’s leg strike that chair. Estefany then put the child down on the floor face down, and put her right knee on top of the child’s right leg. The child could be seen holding his right leg in pain.
Estefany was arrested on a charge of aggravated child abuse and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.
The Early Learning Academy released this statement to parents:
“There was an isolated incident at our school involving a teacher and a student. At this time, there is an active police investigation and we are fully cooperating with local police. The teacher was immediately terminated and is no longer employed at our preschool. We are working to make sure that this type of incident doesn’t happen again and we are fully committed to keeping your children safe while they are in our care. Thank you for your support.”
According to officials, Estefany had been employed at the Early Learning Academy since Nov. 2019.
