A teacher has pleaded guilty to abusing a 2-year-old girl at Lincoln-Marti School in southwest Miami-Dade. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports
Warning: The video above contains graphic content.
A teacher has pleaded guilty to abusing a 2-year-old girl at Lincoln-Marti School in southwest Miami-Dade, Florida.
The crime happened at around 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 9, when 21-year-old Merlin Gutierrez "grabbed, shook, dragged and repeatedly slapped the little girl throughout her head and body," according to an arrest report.
In the surveillance video obtained by NBC Miami, the child is heard screaming and crying while Gutierrez confronts her and hits her.
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The teacher manages to bring the child to a table across the classroom after hitting her multiple times, according to the video.
According to records, Gutierrez pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse and was sentenced to five years of reporting probation.
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As part of the plea deal, she is not considered a convicted felon. On the other hand, she must complete an anger management course and must get a mental health evaluation.
According to her plea deal, Gutierrez is prohibited from teaching in public and private schools, and she cannot enter a profession where she cares for children.
The defendant is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors unless she gets permission from the court.
Gutierrez's attorney did not want to comment on the plea deal.
NBC Miami reached out to Lincoln-Marti Schools and Childcare Centers about the plea deal but hasn't heard back.
In a December statement, Lincoln-Martí Schools and Childcare Centers said: "Lincoln-Marti is wholly committed to the safety of every child in our care. The director of Lincoln-Marti’s childcare center witnessed an incident on the center's camera system and immediately removed the teacher from the classroom. Lincoln-Marti contacted the Florida Abuse Hotline to report the incident, and Lincoln-Marti has cooperated fully with authorities and with the child’s parents. As this is an open investigation, no further comment is appropriate."
