Overview
- Deputies reviewed Tender Care PPEC classroom video that showed Kaitlyn Pitzer pushing the child’s forehead, smearing cake icing on the face, and applying hand sanitizer to open arm wounds.
- The 11-year-old, described as medically complex, appeared distressed and later had scabbed injuries reopen and bleed, according to the sheriff’s office and the parents.
- Pitzer told detectives she was frustrated, admitted the conduct, said the cake-smearing seemed “funny,” and acknowledged not caring about the pain from sanitizer.
- Deputies arrested Pitzer on Oct. 10 on one count of child abuse and booked her into the Hernando County Detention Center with bond set at $5,000.
- The facility reported firing Pitzer, and HCSO says the investigation remains active with tips requested through Hernando County Crime Stoppers, with possible rewards up to $5,000.