No one will face charges in preschool child abuse incident

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS12) — Prosecutors have determined there's insufficient probable cause to charge anyone following allegations of child abuse at Chesterbrook Academy preschool in Port St. Lucie.

Melanie Caramma, a parent who at the time was also a teacher at the preschool, said a teacher at Chesterbrook Academy held her two-year -old son's head under a running faucet because he would not stop crying in November 2022.

She also said two assistant teachers witnessed the incident but did not report it.

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Port St. Lucie Police have released their investigative reports regarding the incident. The reports show police submitted an application to the State Attorney's Office of the 19th Judicial Circuit for an arrest warrant for "Knowingly Abuse a Child without Bodily Harm" and "Simple Battery."

Police also sought an arrest warrant for the two assistant teachers for "Failure to report known or suspected child abuse."

In each case the State Attorney's Office of the 19th Judicial Circuit determined there was no probable cause to support criminal charges.

The bottom line is no one will face any charges for the incident last November involving Caramma's two year old son.

"I'm very disappointed," Caramma said.

Caramma is not happy with the outcome of a case involving her son. She says a teacher at Chesterbrook Academy, a preschool in Port S. Lucie, held his head under a running faucet in November 2022 to try to get him to stop crying. She says this lasted for about three minutes.

Port St. Lucie Police investigated the incident and applied for an arrest warrant with the State Attorney's Office to charge the teacher. According to the police report, prosecutors looked at the information provided by police and came to this conclusion: "This warrant is being denied for insufficient probable cause."

The teacher, whose name is redacted in the police report, told police she did not hold the boy's head under the running water but she did take him to the sink to wash his face from crying. The police report says the teacher failed a polygraph test. The teacher has since been terminated from her job at the preschool.

"I want her to be held accountable for her actions. I want it to be documented on her permanent record so that she will never be able to do this to another child," Caramma said.

The State Attorney's office also decided there was not enough evidence to charge the two assistant teachers who did not report the incident.

Tom Bakkedahl, State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit, told us by phone: "Based upon our review of the evidence, we thought there was insufficient evidence to support the finding of probable cause." He says one assistant teacher saw nothing and heard nothing, and what the other teacher saw did not reach the level of a criminal act. There was no video that shows the incident.

The police report says the water from the running faucet was hitting the child in the forehead and hair area and the child's mouth and nose were not affected by the running water.

A former prosecutor with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, has this to say.

"I agree with the decision not to charge the teacher who held the child's head under the water for child abuse. Child abuse, you have to prove the child suffered physical injuries or mental injuries, psychological injuries which is difficult to prove on a two-year-old at this point," said Marc Shiner, a former Palm Beach County Assistant State Attorney who is now a criminal defense attorney in West Palm Beach.

Shiner says, however, he feels there is enough evidence to charge the teacher with child neglect.

"Clearly holding a child's head under the water three times, two times, even one time intentionally to get the child to stop crying is failure to give proper supervision or care. I think that would've been the appropriate charge to arrest this person. That's inappropriate behavior by a teacher in any facility. That's not the way we treat our kids," Shiner said.

Bakkedahl said if Port St. Lucie Police had asked for an arrest warrant for child neglect, that would not have changed anything.

Chesterbrook Academy, which has an enrollment of about 220 children, declined our request for an on-camera interview. They said they would provide a written statement but we have not received it yet. Police also declined our request for an on-camera interview.