Background: News footage of the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee, Fla. (WESH). Inset: Tiffany Griffith (Osceola County Sheriff”s Office).
A woman from Florida found herself behind bars for several nights after allegedly “dunking” a 6-year-old boy underwater at a resort where she was vacationing with her family.
Authorities have charged 36-year-old Tiffany Griffith with aggravated child abuse, and she is currently being held at the Osceola County Jail. According to a statement by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee, Florida. While on a family vacation, one of Griffith’s children reportedly engaged in an “aggressive” splashing contest with another child. Griffith allegedly intervened by entering the pool and “forcibly dunking” the 6-year-old boy underwater for “several seconds” after shouting at him.
Witnesses told police that three children, including Griffith’s son, were playing in the pool when their splashing intensified. Griffith, upon seeing her son being dunked by the alleged victim, reportedly entered the pool, yelled at the boy, and placed her hands on his shoulders to submerge him underwater forcibly for several seconds.
The young boy, distressed and suffering from a nosebleed, left the pool to seek his parents. According to the police, Griffith then shouted at the boy’s parents before exiting the pool area.
The sheriff’s office reported that they responded to the scene around 4:30 p.m., where they found and arrested Griffith. She was subsequently taken to the Osceola County Jail, where she remains without bond.
As reported by local NBC affiliate WESH, Griffith appeared in court on Sunday. During the proceedings, her defense attorney suggested that Griffith might not have been the cause of the boy’s nosebleed. The judge responded pointedly, questioning whether the act of forcibly submerging the child underwater wasn’t sufficient evidence of her involvement.
The attorney eventually said, “I would withdraw my argument, I guess.”
Griffith remains in custody at the Osceola County Jail on one count of aggravated child abuse. She is scheduled to appear in court again on Tuesday.
