Two Devereux employees arrested; two others fired in child abuse case
Update: Adjudication was withheld for Marcus DeFreitas and Justin Robinson, meaning the judge ordered probation but did not formally convict them of a criminal offense.
Two Devereux employees were arrested this week after an abuse case in which a child was severely beaten on Feb. 9, according to arrest reports.
Brevard County Sheriff's Office investigators said one employee at the residential behavioral health center in Viera held down a child with his knee while repeatedly hitting him as another employee attempted to obstruct the view of security cameras.
Both men were arrested Monday.
At one point, detectives said, Marcus DeFreitas of Melbourne could be seen on video grabbing the child's neck and slamming his head against the ground, according to an arrest affidavit.
Two other employees were also nearby and did not intervene or report the incident.
DeFreitas, 25, was arrested and charged with child abuse and assault.
Justin Robinson, 31, was charged with child neglect without great bodily harm.
Two other employees were fired after deputies said they witnessed and did not report the crime but no charges have been filed against them.
A medical exam showed the boy was covered in abrasions and bruises after the beating, deputies said. At one point, DeFreitas left the boy's room and came back to keep hitting him, reports said.
Later on, he brought the child several packets of butter as a treat.
Devereux administrators told Sheriff's Office and Florida Department of Children and Families investigators all employees are trained to report signs of abuse and are given an anonymous hotline to call if they need to make a report.
All four employees were immediately fired, according to the school.
Justin Robinson initially told investigators he did not see DeFreitas hit the child. After detectives said they had already seen the video surveillance, Robinson changed his account, saying he wasn't sure if he should report a senior employee.
Contact Vazquez at tvazquez@floridatoday.com, 321-917-7491 or on Twitter @tyler_vazquez. Support his work by subscribing to FloridaToday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Two Devereux employees arrested, two others fired in child abuse case
