A woman in Florida has been arrested after an incident at a hotel pool that authorities say ended with a 6-year-old boy suffering a nosebleed.
Deputies responded to a report of a child battery on Friday, Dec. 19 at the Gaylord Palms Hotel in Kissimmee, Fla., according to a weekend statement from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators arrested 36-year-old Tiffany Lee Griffith in connection with the case.
Authorities said three children were playing in the pool when the “splashing became aggressive.” According to a charging affidavit, a witness told police they saw Griffith enter the pool calmly, approach the children, and begin splashing them. The witness said Griffith then moved behind the boy, placed both hands on his shoulders, and “fully submerged” him underwater for roughly two to four seconds. She allegedly splashed him again before leaving the pool, the affidavit states.
The sheriff’s office said the boy had previously “dunked” Griffith’s son underwater, noting the two children are about the same age. However, officers wrote that the security footage they reviewed did not show that occurring. The affidavit says the video did align with the witness’s description of Griffith’s actions.
The boy reportedly left the pool with a nosebleed and told his parents what happened. Authorities allege Griffith then followed the child and began yelling at the boy’s mother, before a man stepped in and removed Griffith from the area, according to the affidavit. It was not immediately clear whether Griffith’s son was injured.
When speaking with police, Griffith said she entered the pool to protect her child — whom she described as nonverbal and autistic — because she believed another child was trying to drown him. She said she pulled her son out and then confronted the other boy’s mother. When investigators referenced security footage showing her allegedly dunking the 6-year-old, she again insisted she was protecting her son, the affidavit states. Authorities say she expressed remorse afterward.
Griffith has been charged with cruelty to a child — aggravated child abuse, according to online court records, which did not list a plea or attorney information. She was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
