SAO: Woman accused of child abuse in Naples home daycare will not be charged

Reporter: Claire Galt Writer: Carolina Guzman
Published: Updated:
No charges filed in Collier child abuse case

UPDATE: The state attorney’s office did not file charges in the case citing insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. WINK News’ previous reporting is below.


A woman has been arrested after allegedly physically abusing a child at a Naples home daycare.

Deysi Acosta, 54, was arrested on Tuesday after the victim’s mother provided the Collier County Sheriff’s Office with footage of the physical abuse that was given to her by another parent, whose child recorded the abuse on an iPad.

According to the sheriff’s office, the footage depicted Acosta, the owner of the daycare, aggressively spanking the 11-month-old six times on his right leg and buttocks while changing his diaper.

The mother told officers she had never permitted Acosta to spank her child.

When she confronted Acosta, she denied that it was her son and that it was her nephew in the footage instead.

The first incident allegedly happened in July, but the parent wasn’t sure if the abuse happened or not, as Acosta said the child got a scratch.

More videos were sent to the mother in September.

The person who sent the mother the videos said that all these videos were on her child’s iPad.

The child recording the footage is heard saying that she is hiding the iPad so she can show it to the police.

In the video, investigators said Acosta can be heard yelling and cursing at the child, saying, “You’re like a savage horse”.

Acosta is being charged with cruelty toward a child.

A judge did find probable cause Wednesday afternoon at Acosta’s first court hearing.

Judge Deborah Cunningham stated, “I’m issuing a no-contact order with the child, his mother, and the reporter. And there will be no unsupervised contact with minor children, as a condition of bond. There must be an order to relinquish firearms.”

Acosta’s public defender asked for a standard bond, and the state asked for $5,000, but the judge ultimately set bail for $10,000.

Acosta’s family was also in court but declined to comment.




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