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Joyce Perkins (Johnson County Sheriff’s Office).
An Indiana woman attacked a toddler but insists that she did not hit the child very hard, authorities in the Hoosier State say.
Joyce Perkins, 31, stands accused of battery on a person less than 14 years old, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The underlying incident occurred on Nov. 4, 2024, at Kiddie Academy of Greenwood on South Morgantown Road in Greenwood — a medium-sized city and part of the broader Indianapolis metro area.
Perkins first lost her job at the day care. The director told Johnson County sheriff’s deputies that he fired the defendant on the day the incident occurred, according to court documents obtained by Indianapolis-based NBC affiliate WTHR and Fox affiliate WXIN.
The director followed up by sending a video to law enforcement.
The footage allegedly shows a 2-year-old boy spitting on Perkins while she tends to another child. Then, the since-fired worker is seen “instantly” slapping the boy’s “face hard enough to spin him around and into a cabinet behind him,” according to a probable cause affidavit.
“I had to smack him because he spit all in my face,” the defendant is allegedly heard saying in the video.
Prosecutors say the video also contains audio of Perkins saying: “hell no” and “ya, he spit in my face, I don’t do that.”
After the alleged slap, Perkins is allegedly seen taking the boy out of the room by his shirt, according to law enforcement.
“Speaking generally, video evidence is very strong evidence and it’s good to have it,” Johnson County prosecutor Lance Hamner told WRTV. “I feel that as a prosecutor our job is to protect. It’s not to just enforce the law. The job requires we use the law to protect people.”
A detective reviewed the footage and eventually caught up with the defendant at her home earlier this week.
During an interview, Perkins allegedly told the detective she had “a reflection, a reflex,” to the child spitting on her. The defendant allegedly went on to say: “I didn’t hit him bad, you know, I just gave him a little small tap. He didn’t cry or nothing.”
Perkins allegedly said the boy was “acting up” on the day in question — by throwing toys while others helped to tidy the premises. The defendant allegedly said the child spit on when she asked him directly to help clean up.
The defendant allegedly went on to claim that she had not actually hurt the boy and allegedly may have defended her actions by saying: “he was the one spitting on me and that’s battery too.”
The detective is said to have responded that the woman’s alleged batterer was only two years old.
“It was my mother’s instinct to react,” the defendant allegedly reiterated. “He didn’t cry or nothing.”
Perkins was also reported to two state agencies.
In a statement, the day care center addressed the incident:
Recently, an isolated incident occurred involving a staff member who failed to meet our professional and ethical standards. We acted immediately, terminating her employment and reporting the matter to the Department of Child Services (DCS). The state licensing authority conducted a thorough investigation and confirmed that we responded appropriately and took every possible measure within our control to address the situation.
The law enforcement investigation is said to be ongoing.
Perkins was not detained as of this writing, jail records show.