HIALEAH, Fla. — The now-former director of a Hialeah daycare is facing a child abuse charge after police said she was caught on camera hitting a 3-year-old boy so hard during a diaper change that she left a mark.
Police said the incident happened last Friday. Rosa Alcala, 52, was taken into custody on Thursday at the Hialeah Police Department.
She has since been fired from her role at E-Z Daycare and Learning Center at 1325 W. 30th St., owner Natasha Johnson confirmed to Local 10 News
Investigators said the boy’s mother went to HPD headquarters on Saturday to report the incident. According to an arrest report, the boy’s grandmother, after picking him up from the daycare, “noticed a handprint marking on (his) left thigh area” and told his mother.
5 p.m. Report
Police said the boy’s mother spoke to Johnson, who promised to review CCTV footage to determine what happened. The report states that Johnson called the boy’s mother the next day to tell her that the footage showed Alcala hitting the boy during the diaper change.
Johnson told Local 10 News that she fired Alcala after the disturbing discovery.
Authorities said photos taken of the boy’s thigh on Saturday still showed “visible redness on the left thigh consistent with being struck by an adult hand,” including an “outline of two fingers still show (sic) printed on the skin.”
Police said when Alcala showed up for an interview on Thursday morning, she “confess(ed).”
That alleged confession was also redacted from the report.
Johnson said the daycare is working with the family, police and the Florida Department of Children and Families, saying that the young boy has since come back to the daycare.
“The family trusts us,” Johnson said. “This speaks to our organization and our school.”
Alcala, identified in the arrest report as a Venezuelan national, was given a $5,000 bond after appearing in Miami-Dade bond court on Friday morning.
Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer ordered her to stay away from the child and from her former employer.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
