The mother of a 9-month-old is facing charges after she allegedly poured water on the baby, who was sleeping, and recorded the incident reportedly saying it was an act of retaliation.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office recently reported that they came across a video posted on Facebook and interpreted it as having content that caused the belief that “improper treatment of an infant” may be taking place.
The video allegedly showed a hand, assumed to be a woman’s, holding a bottle of water over a sleeping baby and pouring some of the contents on the child’s head. The infant woke up and began coughing after a second stream of water allegedly made contact with her face.
The digital images that were uploaded were allegedly tagged with emojis and text that led the authorities to believe that the person in the video and pictures may have felt that the incident was of a prank-like nature. The caption on the upload was reported as saying “Payback for waking me up all kinda times of da night.”
After the sheriff’s office decided that the hand in the video belonged to 33-year-old Caitlin Alyse Hardy, the mother of the infant, and they went to her residence.
Hardy was taken into custody and she is being accused of cruelty to children. After posting $1,500 bond Hardy was released.
If you or someone you love is suspected of child abuse, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.