COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A fired Marietta daycare teacher turned herself in to the Cobb County jail after Channel 2's Chris Jose tracked her down Thursday, deputies said.
Marietta police issued an arrest warrant for Gail Pereira on July 27 for allegedly injuring a 20-month-old boy at Zion Baptist Academy.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by Jose, Pereira allegedly pulled the arm of a 20-month-old child for a “short distance” and caused an injury called “Nurse Maids Elbow,” a partial dislocation of the elbow.
“I didn’t do it. God as my witness, I don’t know how he got hurt. I don’t have an answer to that,” Pereira said. “I was tending to another child.”
Jose found Pereira at her Marietta apartment. She told him she didn’t know police had issued a warrant for her arrest.
“Look, sir, this is all news to me. I’m going through a lot,” Pereira told Jose.
Police said Bright from the Start, a state agency that oversees early care and learning, concluded its investigation in late July.
Police issued the warrant for Pereira’s arrest after the investigation wrapped up.
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“That employee was terminated immediately,” said Dr. George Weathers, the principal at Zion Baptist Academy. “The employee did not intentionally harm the child, but regardless, a child was injured.”
Weathers told Jose he placed Pereira on administrative leave when the allegation first surfaced.
Weathers fired the teacher after the state investigation concluded.
“(I) have zero tolerance for that,” Weathers said. “This is a tragic series of events that happened. This is an isolated event that happened with a child.”
Pereira told Jose she is innocent.
“I don’t know if he got hurt by pulling stuff or somebody pulled on him. I don’t know what happened. I don’t have an answer,” Pereira said. “I was changing (another) child. My back was turned to the student who got hurt. I didn’t understand what was going on.”
Pereira was charged with second-degree cruelty to children.
Cox Media Group
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