Dozen Bite Marks on Toddler: Daycare Worker Charged with Neglect

BRADENTON, FL — A 23-year-old Bradenton woman has been charged with child neglect after an August incident left a toddler with more than a dozen bite marks on his face, back, arm and ear.

According to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, an investigation into the Aug. 29 incident was kicked off after an 18-month-old boy’s mother brought him to the hospital. The child was left in the care of J’s Bright Learners, 5304 7th St. E., that day. Caci R. Burke was responsible for a group of about six 1- to 2-year-olds, an arrest report stated.

Burke is accused of putting the children down for a nap and then leaving the room to spend a “large unknown amount of time in her niece’s room and never checked on the children she was responsible for,” the report said. Burke told deputies she “peeked” in to check on the kids but “it was no longer than a second worth of a look.”

At some point during the children’s nap, one of the toddlers began crying. That child was checked on by another staff member, the report said. It turned out to be a boy who is known to cry a lot, but a little soothing put him back down to sleep.

“An unknown amount of time later, the sounds of a crying child could be heard again,” the report said. Burke told deputies she thought it was the same boy and did not get up to check.

The facility’s director checked in on the crying child a short time later and found “several bite marks on his face,” the port said. The director told deputies it appeared as if the children had been “up for some time.”

The boy's mother notified police after bringing him to the hospital. She also took to Facebookto share photos of her son and express her outrage.

"As a mother you hear about these daycare horror stories and pray it never happens to your children! I feel angry and sad but mostly I want justice for my son!! Please pray that we get justice for this and that it never happens again!"

Burke’s arrest on a charge of child neglect was announced Thursday.

Booking photo courtesy of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office