ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Eyewitness News obtained new information Wednesday involving the arrest of a former day care worker who faces charges of sexual battery on a child and molestation and child abuse.
Jayrico Hamilton, 25, was arrested Tuesday. He used to work at Bright Horizons at Baldwin Park.
According to court documents filed with the Orange County Clerk of Courts, police were notified May 16, 2017, that Hamilton allegedly molested a 4-year-old boy, who is now 5, while at the day care.
The child initially disclosed the abuse to his parents, according to court documents. However, when interviewed by Orlando police detectives in May, the child did not disclose any sexual abuse and, during his first interview with them, denied telling his parents about any sexual abuse. It wasn’t until a subsequent interview in January when the child described alleged inappropriate behavior between him and Hamilton.
"Our son was a healthy and happy child before coming here, and now he's a diminished child," said the father of the 5-year-old boy.
Hamilton was interviewed by police May 17 and denied any sexual abuse allegations, the documents said. Investigators asked him to take a polygraph test, and Hamilton said he would have to ask his lawyer, the documents said.
In another alleged incident, police were notified May 22 that a girl may have been inappropriately touched by Hamilton. When questioned by police May 24, the girl denied being touched by Hamilton.
The Department of Children and Families contacted OPD June 8 after it received reports that a 3-year-old boy was abused by Hamilton. Investigators said while the statements the boy made were concerning to DCF, they were not able to “replicate this history in a neutral environment,” court documents said.
A teacher told investigators in January that she saw Hamilton lying on the floor with children while reading a book and that one child was resting on his chest, documents said. The teacher told investigators that she thought that was too intimate, given the situation, and that Hamilton was overly protective of one of the children.
The teacher said Hamilton was short-tempered with other children and that he only brought in toys for a specific child, court documents said.
Channel 9's Daralene Jones first exposed the allegations at Bright Horizons nine months ago. Follow her on Twitter for updates on this developing story.
Hamilton is being held in the Orange County Jail without bail.
Attorney talks about arrest of former preschool teacher, Jayrico Hamilton. He represents fam of kid who told police he was sexually abused pic.twitter.com/Q1nlJjRNY3
— Daralene Jones (@DJonesWFTV) February 14, 2018
Cox Media Group
