Preschool worker pinched 3-year-old boy with autism in the groin, claimed mom gave her permission to ‘punish him’: Police

Keoni Ellis

Keoni Ellis (Alachua County Jail).

A preschool worker punished a 3-year-old boy with autism who was horsing around with another student by pinching his groin area and pulling him by his ear, Florida deputies said.

Keoni Ellis, 28, is facing a charge of cruelty to children without great bodily harm, court records say. According to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime, the Department of Children and Families called the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office to the CHILD Center for Early Learning shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday for a possible child abuse case that occurred the day before.

More from Law&Crime: ‘Complete betrayal’: Vice principal ‘instructed’ student to delete video of teacher putting another student in ‘chokehold’ instead of reporting classroom abuse, sheriff says

Ellis was in a classroom supervising several children with autism. In the incident captured on surveillance video, the victim and another student appeared to be messing around. Ellis allegedly walked over to the victim and crouched down before pinching him in the groin/upper thigh area. The boy “immediately” backed away from Ellis and started rubbing the area where she pinched him, the affidavit says. He then further distances himself from Ellis and “sits with his legs crossed as if he is in a state of discomfort,” the affidavit said.

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