A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly “forcibly dunked” someone else’s 6-year-old son underwater while staying at a resort during a family vacation.
Tiffany Griffith was charged with aggravated child abuse and taken into custody at the Osceola County Jail following the alleged incident, which took place on Friday, December 19.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office explained in a Facebook post on Monday, December 22, that Griffith, 36, was on a family vacation at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee, Florida, when one of her children got into an “aggressive” splashing match with another child.
Witnesses told authorities that Griffith got into the pool and yelled at the 6-year-old boy before she “forcibly dunked” him under the water for “several seconds.”
Police said the young victim was visibly upset and got out of the pool to find his parents to tell them what happened, adding that he was “suffering a nosebleed.” The post went on to state that Griffith followed the boy to his family and started “yelling at the victim’s mother before leaving the area.”
The sheriff’s office arrived at the resort around 4:30 p.m. in response to reports of the incident. Once they located Griffith, she was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail, according to jail records viewed by Luxury Handbag Shopping.
Griffith – who is based in Fort Myers, Florida – appeared in court on Sunday, December 21, according to local outlet WESH. Her defense attorney argued she may not have been responsible for the nosebleed the victim was allegedly suffering from when he returned to his parents.
“So, you don’t think that placing both hands on his shoulders, forcibly submerging him underwater, and holding him underwater is sufficient?” the judge asked the attorney, per the outlet.
In response, the attorney said that he “would withdraw my argument.”
Griffith returned to court on Tuesday, December 23, where a judge set her bond at $20,000, according to News 6.
Longtime attorney Mark NeJame recently weighed in on the case, insisting that it is never OK for people to discipline other people’s children even if they think they are helping.
“If she touched that child, that was wrong,” NeJame – who is not involved in the case – said, according to News 6. “You don’t take the law into your own hands and teach that kid a lesson. It’s illegal, you don’t touch anybody without their consent, in a manner that is intended to cause some measure of harm.”
It is not currently clear if Griffith has entered a plea or paid the bond in order to be released from jail.
After Griffith’s arrest made headlines, several social media users took to the comments section of the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office’s post to share their candid thoughts on her arrest.
“Listen… I stay watching my kid while he is in the pool. If another kid dunks him…. Let me just say that could be my mug shot too. My kids are my world..sorry not sorry. That’s why she got that smirk on her face. She caught a charge for her kid!!!” one person wrote, while another added, “As a mom, I get it. Especially when you are watching your child, and the other parents aren’t and you see it happening.”
