JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A 53-year-old babysitter was charged with battery on a child after police said hidden-camera video showed her slapping an 11-month-old baby, throwing things and handling the boy violently.
The video was recorded Tuesday in a Mandarin, Fla., home. Jeannine Campbell was arrested the next day,
Jacksonville TV station WAPT reported.In the disturbing video, Campbell is seen picking the baby up violently and slinging him by his arms into a playpen. Minutes later, the babysitter kicks a bouncy ball the child is playing with at the boy, then picks up the ball and hurls it at the baby's head so hard, it knocks him over.
Later, the babysitter can be seen slapping the boy on the back of the head so hard he falls over.
Toward the end of the 9-minute video, it appears the babysitter got mad while trying to put socks on the child. According to the arrest report, Campbell swatted the boy 11 times, then kicked him.
"It was extremely difficult (to watch)," the boy's father said. "My wife started watching for the first few moments and couldn't watch anymore, and that's when we went ahead and called the police and got them involved."
The family said Campbell was referred to them through friends and she listed her main employer as a local church.
"This is coming from someone you would've never thought, coming out of this lady. But the video doesn't lie," the father said.
About two months ago, the father said he noticed his youngest child had a black eye, but assumed it may have been caused by an older brother.
However, the father was concerned enough that he decided to install a hidden camera in his house to see what was going on while he was gone.
The first thing he said he noticed on the tape was that she ignored the kids much of the time while she watched television. That upset him enough to fire Campbell that day.
He said he didn't discover the assault until hours later after he put the kids to bed and he watched the rest of the tape.
"Of course I'm angry. That's an understatement," the father said. "If I had known then what I know now, I may be the one sitting in jail at this moment, so it may be good it played out the way it did."
When questioned after her arrest, Campbell acknowledged her actions "looked bad" and admitted slapping, hitting and throwing things at the boy, police said.
She remains in the Duval County jail on $75,003 bond.
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