SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested a Sunrise teaching assistant accused of abusing a child.
Thirty-nine-year-old Ophelia Thompson has been charged with three counts of child abuse and has been ordered to stay away from JAFCO Children’s Ability Center on North Nob Hill Road.
Thompson is a teaching assistant at the center, which caters to children with special needs.
Thompson was ordered to stay away from anyone with disabilities and is being held on a $8,500 bond.
JAFCO released a statement that reads in part, “At JAFCO the safety of all children entrusted in our care is of paramount concern. As soon as we learned of the staff member’s response towards the boy we terminated her immediately. We had vetted her before hiring her – as we do all of our employees and volunteers. We initiated a report on behalf of this non-verbal child to the appropriate state authorities and fully cooperated with the investigation.”
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