ORANGE CITY, Fla. – An Orange City preschool teacher is accused of child abuse involving a 3-year-old child, according to police.
The Orange City Police Department said Zayda Bayala was arrested Friday and had worked at Emmaus Lutheran Preschool, located at 2500 S. Volusia Ave.
According to a release, police said the child’s mother reported on Monday that her daughter told her on June 27 that Bayala had pulled her hair.
“The mother initially did not act on the claim but grew increasingly concerned after her daughter repeatedly expressed fear about returning to school during the week of July 4, describing Bayala as ‘mean,’” a release said.
The mother told the school’s director, who reviewed classroom surveillance footage and saw that “Bayala aggressively approached the child, grabbed her by the arm on two separate occasions, and later pulled her by the hair, causing her to fall forward,” police said.
Bayala was “immediately relieved of her duties” and the Department of Children and Families was notified, prompting an investigation.
Police said officers had also reviewed the surveillance video and it showed the child try to move away from Bayala before she “forcefully grabbed her by the right bicep and, later, pulled her by the hair, bringing her to the ground.”
“The child appeared to be visibly distressed during the incident,” the release reads.
Bayala was arrested and faces a charge of child abuse without causing great bodily harm.
She is currently booked in the Volusia County jail.
An investigation is ongoing.