The New York City Police Department says officers are looking for a nanny allegedly seen on video beating three young children she was tasked to care for with a leather belt -- a disturbing scene that family members fear may have been all too common in that Bronx home.
The abuse was uncovered in early May, though relatives say it likely went on for months. She had been caring for the children, ages 2, 4 and 6, for the last year. The sitter, identified as La'Keysha Jackson, was assigned to help in the home by an agency partnering with the Administration for Children's Services.
Stream NBC 5 for free, 24/7, wherever you are.
WATCH HEREACS says the provider fired Jackson after learning of the video, which was from a home surveillance camera, and a review is underway. An arrest warrant for her was issued this week.
"We are taking these despicable actions very seriously, and we have commenced a review of the contracted provider’s procedures," ACS said in a statement. "The provider terminated the employee and, with the NYPD, we are investigating this incident."
The video is disturbing. Behind the blurred images are little boys wailing as their babysitter beats them with a thick leather belt. Their mother, Geraldine Jaramillo, says she feels awful she wasn't there to protect them.
Jaramillo says she set up the nanny camera as a precaution, that she couldn't have imagined the assigned nanny the family adored for the last year could be hurting the children. She says the kids always looked OK when she got home or were calm or sleeping or watching TV, and as a single mom she appreciated the help.
The children's grandmother alerted everyone to the video after she got an alert on her phone.
U.S. & World
"I see her pulling her belt from her little backpack and I couldn’t … it was too much … it was so disturbing I was in tears," grandmother Sara Enamorado says.
The family claims other videos show physical assault on at least 10 occasions.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the news you need to know with the Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
SIGN UP Their grandfather says the nanny would hit the kids with a hanger, "grab 'em and flip 'em on the couch on the bed, tried to suffocate the kids and everything."
The children were already victims of domestic violence at the hands of their father, according to the family's attorney.
