Disturbing video shows taxpayer-funded babysitter brutally beating NYC tots with a belt — and horrified family demands answers
La'keysha Jackson, 24, began working for Bronx mother Geraldine Jaramillo a year ago via a contractor paid for by city's Administration for Children's Services that provides struggling families with babysitters to help with caretaking.
9 A shocked family says that babysitter La'keysha Jackson – paid for by a city program – was discovered regularly beating three kids under 6-year-old, according to video footage.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
The single mom said she discovered the violent treatment last month when the kids' grandma checked a home surveillance camera in the bedroom — and was horrified to learn that the babysitter was secretly beating the children, boys ages 2, 4 and 6.
But despite the family reporting the horrifying behavior to ACS and the NYPD — and Jackson getting charged with a pair of felonies — she has yet to be arrested, the family said.
The video shows her beating two of the crying children nearly 60 times, according to a notice of claim filed by Jaramillo's attorney Monday indicating her intent to sue.
In the footage from May 6, the brutal babysitter can be seen whipping the underwear-clad children's behinds and restraining their tiny arms as they try in vain to deflect the blows.
'Guess what's about to happen,' she can be heard saying, apparently upset that the two older kids, aged 4 and 6, did not clean up their room.
'Belt?' one of the young boys answers as Jackson, wearing a T-shirt with the words 'Heaven Sent,' pulls a thick brown belt out of a cross-body bag.
'You're right — I warned y'all,' she replies cheerily, chillingly adding: 'Drop 'em.'
9 La'keysha Jackson was considered a member of the family for the year she worked with them through a taxpayer-funded program.
Facebook / Lakeysha Jackson
9 But secretly, Jackson was donning grotesque costumes and beating the children while the single mom was at work.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
The babysitter also bizarrely wore a grotesque Halloween mask and a Santa Claus outfit — which Jaramillo discovered in her home — to apparently frighten the children, footage shows.
Jackson was employed by home aid provider Selfhelp, contracted by the troubled ACS, through its homemaking program that provides struggling city families with a babysitter to help with caretaking, according to Jaramillo and documentation shared with The Post.
But what was supposed to be miraculous help turned into a living nightmare for the mom, who first got connected with the homemaking service while fleeing a domestic violence situation, she said.
Until her own mom found the video, Jaramillo said she and her parents considered Jackson a member of the family, celebrating holidays together and letting her sleep in a spare bedroom occasionally to avoid the long trek back to Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn from the Bronx.
9 Jaramillo told The Post that Jackson, pictured, was the second sitter sent to the family after the first from the same ACS-contracted agency was discovered drinking and smoking at a playground while watching the kids.
Facebook / Lakeysha Jackson
9 A still from a graphic video showing Jackson taking out a belt before beating the two young children a total of 58 times.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
But the family then came to learn 'she was beating the kids every other day,' said the kids' grandpa Rudy Enamorado, who drove two hours from his Pennsylvania home once he saw the footage.
'Hitting the kids with the [clothes] hangers, hitting them with belts, throwing the baby,' Jaramillo recounted, claiming that the babysitter also doled out emotional and verbal abuse to the children.
The kids are now scared to take off their clothes, leave their bedroom — or even use the bathroom.
9 The last text message sent by Jackson to the single mom after the May 6 incident.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
'They say the bathroom is scary,' Jaramillo told The Post, 'we don't understand why.'
The boys are also now intensely aggressive with each other, fighting, hitting and even sitting on the baby to the point of suffocation, the mom said.
'They're so traumatized,' Jaramillo said. 'I don't know where they're learning these things, I don't know if they're repeating stuff that was happening to them.'
9 The children cried and screamed as they were wailed upon by their city-funded caretaker.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
Jackson was the second sitter sent to the family after the first from the same ACS-contracted agency was discovered drinking and smoking at a playground while watching the kids, Jaramillo claimed.
'The worst thing we did was let our guard down,' said grandfather Enamorado.
Jackson did not reply to requests for comment, but in her last text message to Jaramillo, shared with The Post, she professed her 'love' for the boys.
'It's a learning experience for us all,' the message said. 'I am their number one supporter when it comes to their safety and well being.'
It's unclear how much Jackson was paid, but Selfhelp currently has a $1.23 million contract with ACS for homemaking services, records show.
Jaramillo alleged that after the May 6 incident, ACS opened an investigation into her — instead of Jackson — claiming she lacked documentation from the kids' hospital visit that day.
An ACS spokesperson did not address that claim, but said that Jackson no longer works for Selfhelp and that ACS was working with the NYPD in its investigation.
'We are taking these despicable actions very seriously, and we have commenced a review of the contracted provider's procedures,' the rep said.
A Selfhelp spokesperson confirmed that Jackson had been terminated and that the company is fully cooperating with the NYPD, claiming that it performs drug testing and background checks on all their workers.
9 Jackson did not reply to requests for comment, but in the last text message to Jaramillo, she professes her 'love' for the boys.
Courtesy Daniel Szalkiewicz
Police sources said cops attempted to arrest Jackson Monday morning on assault and child endangerment charges, but were unable to.
9 Jackson's brother told a Post reporter outside of their Bed-Stuy home that what the video depicted was normal in Black families.
Facebook / Lakeysha Jackson
Jackson's brother told a Post reporter outside of their Bed-Stuy home that what the video depicted was normal in Black families.
'Abuse my ass,' he said Monday, 'That happens in black families all the time.'
Jaramillo, whose aunt is now helping with childcare, said she wants justice for her kids — and to figure out what exactly happened in her home.
'I really want to get to the bottom of this.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
ICE offering six-figure salaries and $50K bonuses as it ramps up hiring to fuel deportations
ICE is on a hiring spree with the tsunami of new cash from President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill — and some top recruits are getting $50,000 signing bonuses and six-figure salaries as the agency ramps up its mass deportation effort. The most lucrative payouts are going to retired agents — who are returning to work in droves to take advantage of the new incentives, many of them tell The Post. New recruits can expect to make a fair bit less —between $50,000 to $90,000 per year in base base. The agency is looking to hire 10,000 new agents with the flood of $75 billion in extra funding to carry out Trump's mass deportation effort. 3 Federal officers in tactical gear wait in a hallway outside a New York courtroom. AFP via Getty Images 'They're begging to come back because they believe in securing America, protecting kids, and supporting an undermanned force stretched thin by the prior administration's border chaos,' said Scott Mechkowski, the former assistant ICE chief for New York. One retired agent, who requested anonymity due to his pending application to return to ICE, told The Post he knows 'about four or five' other ex-feds 'that put in' for the opportunity to return to the force with salaries over $100,000 per year. Homeland Security agents — especially with Border Patrol — quit en mass during the Biden administration because they were so fed up with policies that allowed illegal migrants to pour into the US. Now, many are coming back to work. 'It's a great opportunity to get back into the mix and because a lot of us ended our career and we still felt like we had a lot more left,' the ex-agent said. 3 Retired officers and agents say they're ready to return to the force after the Trump administration increased recruitment bonuses. AFP via Getty Images ICE is offering a signing bonus of $10,000 upon returning to service; another $10,000 bonus for those who apply by Aug. 1; and annual $10,000 bonuses, for up to three years, for those who take part in Operation Return to Service. The agency has also said it will offer 'dual compensation waivers,' allowing former feds to retain pension payments and benefits if they come out of retirement. 3 ICE is seeking to recruit 10,000 new officers and agents with the passage of Trump's massive funding bill. Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/Shutterstock The surge of new officers and agents will help the agents meet the administration's ambitious 3,000-per-day arrest quota has filled detention centers to the brim. 'If you hire enough people to get back, then you can have people to do the investigations. Because right now you're robbing Peter to pay Paul by taking everybody off their own investigations,' said the retired agent. 'My biggest concern about the whole immigration push and using all the agencies and having everybody doing work in six days a week is you're going to have burnout,' he added.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Beer-loving NYC shoplifter with over 200 busts at it again — but quickly set free
He knows what he likes — and just takes it. A serial shoplifter with more than 200 busts on his rap sheet — and an apparent grudge against a Post photographer — is facing new theft charges after cops said he snatched a batch of Modelo beer from one of his favorite haunts, a Duane Reade pharmacy on Broadway in Lower Manhattan. Laron Mack, 53, who seems to have a taste for the Mexican brew, tried to kick photographer Steven Hirsch after his latest arrest this week — a rematch for Mack, who lunged at Hirsch and smashed his camera after an earlier shoplifting arrest in 2022. 4 Laron Mack, 53, took a kick at Post photographer Steven Hirsch after his arrest this week — their second encounter. Steven Hirsch On Wednesday, he was arraigned on petty larceny and possession of stolen property charges after allegedly trying to make off with 18 Modelos from the Manhattan retailer on Monday. He was released without bail — as he always has been because the charges don't qualify for bail under the state's controversial 2019 criminal justice reform statute. The scene of the crime is familiar turf for Mack, who has been pinched at the same Duane Reade at least a half dozen times since April, allegedly making off with sandwiches and his favorite beer. 'Number one selling beer, but this guy just steals it,' one law enforcement source told The Post. 'This guy's not stealing food to feed his family.' The repeat offender has at least three other open larceny cases pending in Manhattan, including charges that he ripped off the pharmacy just one day before his latest bust. 4 Laron Mack smashed the camera of Post photographer Steven Hirsch in 2022 — and tried to kick him this week. Steven Hirsch 4 Police said Laron Mark has repeatedly stolen Modelo beer from Manhattan retailers, seemingly his favorite beer. Steven Hirsch According to sources, he also allegedly tried to steal four 12-packs, 11 eight-packs and two 'tall boys' on June 9; five cases and two 24-packs on May 7; sandwiches, yogurt and beer on April 18; and, on April 10, more, you guessed it, Modelo beer from the same Duane Reade outlet. Not to be entirely exclusive, Mack is also accused of stealing Charmin toilet paper from a Duane Reade on Amsterdam Avenue, and has been charged with stealing from Walgreen's as well. 'I steal for a living,' he admitted after a June 2022 shoplifting arrest. He's also not always particular after his beer — the June 2022 arrest that led to the attack on Hirsch was for allegedly stealing oatmeal, breakfast sausage and Bud Light from an Upper East Side pharmacy. 4 Laron Mack, 53, has more than 200 arrests on his record, primarily for shoplifting in Manhattan. Steven Hirsch Following his release on robbery charges, Hirsch asked Mack how he was doing, when the accused shoplifter spun around and knocked the camera out of the photographers hands, punching him in the arm and smashing the equipment into the wall. Despite his rap sheet, the courts haven't been able to hold Mack because of the state reforms. Additional reporting by Mikella Schuettler
New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
500 NYC cabs will use cameras to fight fraud ‘cartels' that stage phony accidents, ditch fares
A new pilot program will equip 500 New York City cabs with vehicle surveillance cameras in a new effort to combat the 'cartel' behind a $1 billion insurance fraud scam targeting taxis. 'Operation Bright Eyes' puts eyes inside Big Apple cabs to snuff out ride-and-run scammers and insurance fraudsters who fake accidents to cash in on potentially lucrative payouts. 'We have cartels that have built their fortune on our industry,' Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, told The Post this week. 'These cartels fabricate car accidents to the tune of 70% of every car accident for livery and black cars are fraudulent. Advertisement 3 Livery driver and taxi advocates said insurance fraud schemes cost the industry about $1 billion every year. Christopher Sadowski 'They're fabricated. And these cartels are comprised of lawyers, doctors, physical therapists, and of course those that are making these accidents happen. They are making billions of dollars on us.' The project, a partnership with dashcam company Displayride, American Transit Insurance and Queens-based NYAB Brokerage, will equip the 500 cabs in less than 30 days — with a goal of eventually having 100,000 taxis wired for video, organizers said. Advertisement Abdul Kasim, CEO of Displayride, said the gear typically costs about $250, but drivers in the program will get wired up free of charge for the first year or so — and said the installation is a breeze. 'You just plug it in, it turns on,' Kasim said. 'It takes about 30 seconds to actually install, self-install. So that's not a question that you get. I think the question they ask is, How do I access the data and all that. 3 'Operation Bright Eyes' will install surveillance cameras in 500 Big Apple taxis and livery vehicles in the next 30 days. photobyphotoboy – 'But that's again, they just need to press a button on the device. It connects,' he added. 'There's no apps to download.' Advertisement Under the program, a camera is installed inside the car, with lenses facing the front and the back of the vehicle, capturing both the traffic outside and the customers inside. Taxi federation president Steven Rivera called the program 'a declaration of war' against fraudsters. For taxi drivers in the five boroughs, it's a much welcomed gizmo. 'Sometimes, a lot of passengers, they want to insult you,' said driver Francisco Jorge, a Bronx resident. 'Also, we have accidents with cars that they push the brake hard and then you hit them to the back because they want to make a fraud accident where they can get some money from you. Advertisement 3 Big Apple cab drivers said scammers slam on the breaks to get rear-ended by their vehicles, then claim damages. Christopher Sadowski 'So, having a desk camera is very important, because it's going to be recording everything around you – the front, the back – around you,' he said. Another Bronx driver, Eltayeb Mohamed, said one pal had to dole out $24,000 in one insurance scam. 'The lady backed up and said, 'I'm OK, are you OK? OK, you can leave,'' Mohamed said. 'My friend left and then she called the police and say he hit and run.'
