Day Care Workers Charged with Mistreating Children: Allegations of Using Spoons and Psychological Harm Surface

In Florida, three day care workers are facing serious allegations of repeatedly striking and “torturing” children, to the point where the young ones reportedly came to expect such treatment. The workers are further accused of attempting to cover up their actions.

The individuals involved are Nativia King, aged 50, Stacy Hamilton Jackson, aged 66, and Kia Walker, aged 52. All three are charged with third-degree tampering with a witness. Additionally, King and Jackson face three counts of first-degree aggravated child abuse, while Walker is charged with one count of the same offense.

The case came to light on January 16, when the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Rockledge Police Department were called to investigate the Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center in Rockledge, Florida, over allegations of child abuse. DCF investigators reported claims that “all the teachers hit the children as a form of punishment,” using either their hands or a wooden spoon, suggesting this method was a standard practice at the facility.

Upon their arrival, officers noted the presence of a surveillance system monitoring the classrooms. However, as per the affidavits, when officers requested to review the footage, Walker responded defensively, claiming she did not have the password to access it.

Walker allegedly continued to obstruct the investigation, refusing to contact her technician or allow immediate access to the footage. Consequently, authorities removed the surveillance equipment, citing its importance as evidence and the risk of it being destroyed if left under Walker’s control.

In the ensuing days and weeks, investigators secured search warrants for the relevant video — with footage stretching from Dec. 19, 2025, to Jan. 16, 2026, the affidavits say. Multiple rooms of the day care could be seen, along with classrooms, offices, and playground areas.

On the morning of Dec. 19, 2025, King “could be observed in video surveillance, willfully and intentionally hitting multiple children in the back of the head, causing them to fall, hitting them in the face, and pulling their ears,” the affidavit for King states. “The defendant can be seen leaving the children unsupervised on multiple occasions.”

The document goes on, at length:

The defendant was also observed grabbing the back of the neck of a female child, as she pushed the child into a blind corner, hiding from the cameras. Moments later, one could observe the child coming back as they seemed visibly upset. The children appeared to be intimidated by the defendant, as they hid once she got close to them. At no point is the defendant observed doing any activities or providing care for the children; she promotes violence and presents aggressive behavior during those hours. The defendant inflicted mental and physical injury on the victims.

On the morning of Jan. 15, 2026, King allegedly “grabbed” a child “by the hair” in an aggressive way and “pushed him against the floor, while shaking him.” The child was “crying and in distress,” the affidavit for her arrest went on. “Within the same time frame, one could observe the defendant approaching another toddler child, and for no apparent reason, she willfully and intentionally strikes him in the face.”

That same day, the affidavit states, Walker could be seen in the video “poking a child with her finger in the forehead” as Jackson walks around, “hitting children with the spoon.”

The following day, Jackson reportedly entered a classroom “holding a large black-colored spoon.” She proceeded to approach a child and “hit [her] on her right leg” with it. The child appeared afraid, the affidavit said, as Jackson “willfully and aggressively swung the spoon,” hitting the child “in the neck and causing her to fall.”

Jackson allegedly then left the then-crying child unattended before placing her in a chair and slapping another child “on the side of his head, causing him to fall.”

That was the day that the DCF and police officers arrived at the facility, and the affidavits state that as they arrived, surveillance footage showed “the three suspects looking through the window.” The affidavits claim that the defendants were “obstructing the investigation by preventing the children from conducting further interviews, attempting to rip the cables of the video surveillance system, and concealing the object the kids described getting hit with.”

They all “denied hitting the children,” the affidavits added.

“In many videos, one could see the suspects either hitting the children or witnessing the acts of violence,” the documents add. “The children had adapted to the violence of the day care, and they expected it as a common behavior from the teachers. Almost every time the suspects were captured on video, they seemed angry and were torturing the children for no apparent reason, causing them to cry, flinch, and be scared.”

The ages of the children ranged from 1 to 4 years old, Orlando-based ABC affiliate WFTV reported, and the documents state that “a lot of them cannot speak for themselves or explain the abuse.” According to one affidavit, law enforcement “received multiple complaints from parents stating the suspects had reached out to them or their place of employment, to prevent them from making a statement.”

The city of Rockledge asked Friday for “any families who believe their children may have been a victim of a crime while attending Gingerbread Manor Child Care” to contact the police, noting the investigation was active.

Walker was reportedly Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center’s director, with a social media statement from the day care center in the wake of the charges being filed stating, “yesterday, the Brevard County judge immediately dismissed the unfounded and malicious charge of aggravated child abuse against” Walker, per the local outlet.

“The meritless nature of this false accusation became apparent at the earliest stage of legal proceedings,” the statement went on, with the facility threatening “legal recourse against those who filed false reports.” However, court records still show Walker is facing one aggravated child abuse charge.

King and Walker have arraignments scheduled for March 3, while Jackson’s was canceled for that day and is set to be rescheduled.