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OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - A woman accused of pushing a 6-year-old boy underwater at a hotel swimming pool in Osceola County appeared in court Tuesday.
Tiffany Griffith, 36, of Fort Myers, has been charged with aggravated child abuse.
A judge set her bond at $20,000.
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The backstory:
Osceola County deputies were called to the Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimmee on Friday for a verbal disturbance and "possible drowning incident."
Witnesses told deputies that a woman, later identified as Griffith, entered the pool where a group of children were playing and began splashing water on them. Griffin then grabbed the 6-year-old boy by the shoulders and held him underwater for a few seconds, according to the Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit.
The boy left the pool "visibly upset" and had a nosebleed, the sheriff's office said in a release.
Griffith also yelled at the boy’s mother before leaving the pool area, according to deputies.
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Deputies made contact with Griffith, who told them that her 7-year-old son, who is a nonverbal autistic child, was being drowned by another child in the pool. She told deputies she entered the pool to pull out her son and then confronted the other child's parents about the incident.
Griffith told deputies she was "protecting my son."
Griffith was arrested and booked into the Osceola County Jail.
Deputies reviewed surveillance video from the hotel that showed Griffith entering the pool and submerging the six-year-old child from behind, according to the arrest affidavit. The video was also played during Griffith's court appearance on Tuesday.
The Source: This article was written with information from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office and court documents.