Three Florida day care employees are accused of torturing young children in their care through physical abuse, including by hitting them with their hands and a wooden spoon as a “form of punishment,” according to court documents.
Surveillance footage from Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center in Rockledge showed three women identified as teachers at the center — Nativia Latrice King, 50, Kia Walker, 52, and Stacy Hamilton Jackson, 66 — regularly abusing the children, police wrote in arrest affidavits obtained by Luxury Handbag Shopping.
“The children had adapted to the violence of the day care, and they expected it as a common behavior from the teachers,” Rockledge Police Sergeant Natalia Turbeville wrote in the filings, based on surveillance footage.
“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 affidavits say.
King and Jackson are both charged with three counts of aggravated child abuse and one count of tampering with a witness, Rockledge Deputy Chief of Police Christopher J. Cochie said in a news release issued on Friday, February 6, when King, Jackson and Walter were arrested.
Walker is charged with one count of aggravated child abuse and one count of tampering with a witness, according to police.
Gingerbread Manor Child Care Center did not return a message seeking comment from Us on Thursday, February 12.
In a statement shared to Facebook on Sunday, February 8, the center identified Walker as the facility’s day care director and denounced the allegations against her as “meritless.”
The center said a Brevard County “judge immediately dismissed the unfounded and malicious charge of aggravated child abuse against” Walker.
Court records viewed by Us on February 12 show the child abuse charge against Walker is still pending.
Information on her legal representation was not listed in court records.
It was not currently clear whether Walker, King or Jackson had entered pleas.
King’s defense attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. Information on whether Jackson had retained legal counsel was not immediately available.
Authorities found probable cause to charge Walker, King and Jackson with child abuse after the Department of Children and Families visited the day care with police on January 16 in connection with alleged child abuse, the affidavits say.
Based on the investigation, according to the filings, a Department of Children and Families investigator noted in a statement that all three women routinely hit children “with open hands or a wooden spoon” and noted that “This is a common form of punishment at the facility.”
When Sergeant Turbeville spoke with Walker on January 16, she allegedly became defensive when asked to provide video surveillance footage from the past month.
That same day, Walker, King and Jackson were also accused of trying to obstruct the investigation by stopping children from speaking with investigators and trying to “rip the cables of the video surveillance system,” the affidavits say.
Law enforcement ultimately obtained the surveillance footage, according to the filings.
One clip from December 19, 2025, showed King “hitting multiple children in the back of the head, causing them to fall, hitting them in the face, and pulling their ears,” King’s affidavit says.
In another clip from January 15, one day before investigators visited the center, Walker and Jackson were seen injuring children, according to the affidavit.
Walker “could be [observed] poking a child with her finger in the forehead, as [Jackson] walks around, hitting the children with the spoon,” the affidavit says.
It is possible that more charges could be filed against the women in the case, according to police.
Multiple families of children who were allegedly abused are being represented by attorney Brynn Brito, who told WESH that they plan to sue over the abuse.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
