Florida babysitter accused of putting four-year-old child in clothing dryer and turning it on

A Florida woman has been accused of child abuse after a child she was babysitting told a local emergency room she had put him inside the clothes dryer with some towels and turned the machine on.

The child arrived at the UF Health Leesburg Hospital on February 1 with large bruises and told hospital workers the babysitter had “put him in the dryer with towels and he spun around.” The child told his parents he was “in a lot of pain” after the incident. 

The babysitter, Amber Chapman, 35, was arrested by the Sheriff’s Department in Lake County on Saturday on child abuse charges. She was later released on a $15,000 bond. She is facing a first degree felony charge of child abuse.

Medical staff at the hospital reported the child had “grape-sized” bruises on his ears, face, and back when he arrived at the emergency room.

The arrest affidavit says staff at the hospital “observed soft tissue swelling of the occipital area, grape sized bilaterally as well as minor bruising to both ears, a large bruise to the right scapula about five centimeters in diameter and a seven centimeter bruise to the right perispinal lumbar area.”

After the incident, the chlid spoke with police at his home, telling them Chapman “placed him in a dryer, closed the door and he ‘went round and round.’’ The child claims Chapman then opened the dryer door, closed it again, and turned it on.

The identity of the child remains private for his protection. Chapman is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment hearing on May 2, according to arrest records from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.