JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla.-- The parents of a 15-month-old baby say the marks they saw on their son's skin is evidence of child abuse.
They say the marks on their child came from the hand of a daycare worker.
Sara Johanns reads to her 15-month-old son Dylan all the time, but now she's treasuring each moment with her son just a little more.
"We changed his diaper and saw a hand print on his thigh," said Johanns.
Johanns took pictures of the hand print on Dylan's thigh as proof. Sara thinks a teacher at the Bethlehem Lutheran Preschool Inc. hit him.
Action News went to the school to ask about the allegations. Patricia May, director of the VPK program, came to the door to talk. "We're just upset over the situation.
She tells us 3 teachers are being questioned. Action News found out the Department of Children and Families is also doing its own investigation. John Harrell says right now, it's just an allegation.
"The challenge comes in when you're talking about a child too young to communicate. How do you find out what happened," said Harrell.
Action News also did some digging into the daycare's past. According to DCF, Bethlehem Lutheran Preschool Inc. was cited in December 2010 for child discipline issues. The report says a staff member rolled a child on to the floor from a cot. Action News found out that employee was later fired. DCF says there are strict policies for disciplining children in daycares.
"No physical discipline is allowed. Even a pop to the child on the hand, that's illegal," said Harrell. "Just like the parents want to find out, we want to find out. If there is something, we don't want that teacher here," said May.
DCF says there is no time table on when their investigation will be done. Sara tells us there are security cameras in the classroom, but she was told any footage from the day in question was taped over. The Jacksonville Beach police department is also conducting its own investigation.
