Andrew Ford

FLORIDA TODAY

An employee at Woodlake Child Development Center on Palm Bay Road was arrested after Palm Bay police say she abused a child in her care.

At about 4 p.m. Friday, Carolyn Philogene-Hylton, 59, told her supervisors a 4-year-old child had suffered a bump on his head after falling. When his father came to pick him up, he looked at the bump and found it was a gash that was still bleeding. He took his son to a hospital and a doctor told him the gash required stitches, but because of a time delay, they would only be able to staple the wound and the risk of infection was increased.

Police determined the boy was hurt at about 9:30 Friday morning. The owner of the daycare watched video of the classroom and found out Philogene-Hylton took the boy into a bathroom and closed the door. After several minutes, the door opened and the boy had a bandage on the back of his head. She didn't report the injury to senior staff members and prevented the boy from getting medical attention.

The boy told police she grabbed him by the shirt and jostled him. He said he fell and hit "the wall" and there was a lot of blood. Police found blood at the scene and determined a water heater is likely the point of impact that caused the injury.

After waiving her rights, Philogene-Hylton told police she lied about the time of the boy's injury because she was scared about reporting it. She said she had the boy by the arms and he fell forward and hit his head on the toilet. When an officer told her that version of events didn't match the boy's injury and evidence at the scene, she said he fell backward and hit his head.

Philogene-Hylton​ was arrested Wednesday and booked at Brevard County jail on charges of child abuse and child neglect.

The boy's father, Terry Farmer, 54, was incensed.

"I feel like no kid should have to go through that," Farmer said.