BOYNTON BEACH – The day after authorities arrested her granddaughter’s daycare teacher on a child-abuse charge, Latasha Norfus inspected the scratches on the toddler’s arms and neck.
“Who did that to you?” the Boynton Beach grandmother asked.
“Ms. Amelia,” the 3-year-old replied.
Amelia Jones, 31, was arrested — and fired — Feb. 6 for reportedly leaving bruises on another toddler in her care at Lighthouse Academy and Child Development Center. Authorities arrested her again Monday at her Lantana home in the case involving Norfus’ granddaughter.
According to Norfus, the daycare center, on Boynton Beach Boulevard just west of City Hall, had known about allegations against Jones since at least November, when her daughter notified its staff about cuts on her little girl. The toddler claimed “Ms. Amelia” had scratched her.
However, it was not until last week, after another mother claimed Jones bruised her child, that any change happened, Norfus said. That mother noticed bruises on her child’s left arm when she picked her 3-year-old up Monday afternoon from the center. The woman asked the staff about the bruises, but no one could explain what had happened.
The child had been bad at daycare, so “Ms. Amelia” grabbed the child, the 3-year-old said.
Video-camera footage from the classroom shows Jones “very aggressively” grabbing the toddler by the arm and taking the child to the bathroom, according to police records. The school’s staff confronted Jones about the incident Tuesday morning and she admitted to “becoming too aggressive” with the child.
When Boynton Beach police spoke with Jones, she said the child had been crying insistently that morning. She said she was frustrated and forcefully grabbed the child. She took the tot into the bathroom to try to calm the child down.
An officer noted that the bruises on the toddler looked to be in the shape of fingers and cuts by the child’s elbow appeared to be from fingernails.
Jones said she was unaware she’d left bruises on the child and stressed how sorry she was for injuring the toddler, according to police records.
A daycare employee who asked not to be named said Jones was “immediately terminated.” It’s unclear how long Jones worked at the daycare center, though Norfus said Jones only worked with her granddaughter for a few months.
During those months, though, the little girl who once loved school grew to dread it, she said. “It wasn’t like her,” Norfus added. “She would just cry when my daughter pulled up (to the) school.
“Imagine the kids there that can’t talk to tell their parents.”
Two more of Norfus’ grandchildren have attended the center. They’d never had any problems with the daycare until Jones, she said. Palm Beach County Health Department records indicate the center has had several violations in the last year — including staff members not completing mandatory training. All of the violations, none of which were considered major, were addressed by the time of the authorities’ next visit to the center.
Norfus said she watched video of Jones forcefully grabbing her granddaughter from across the table. According to police records video from Feb. 5 shows Jones grab, shake and lift the girl out of a chair “for no apparent reason.” The girl fell to the floor and Jones made no effort to help her, police said.
Medical authorities determined the marks on the little girl’s arm last week were signs of physical abuse.
A daycare employee who spoke with The Post on Thursday declined to comment about any of the allegations involving Norfus’ granddaughter. The employee would not say whether the center had fielded previous allegations against Jones from parents.
“This shouldn’t have happened,” Norfus said.
Jones, who does not appear to have a criminal history in Palm Beach County, is out of jail on a $3,000 bond, according to jail records.
When The Post called her about the allegations she replied: “Teachers have stressful days. That’s all I’m going to say.”