The Leesburg Police Department issued a statement Wednesday saying it had “worked tirelessly” in an effort to arrest a woman who was shown in a recent Facebook video holding her 3-year-old upside down and purposefully dunking his head in a toilet.
But it appears as if no charges will be filed against the child’s mother, Kaitlyn Wolf, of Leesburg.
The video, showing Wolf and her son, was taken by her 10-year-old child and quickly went viral on Facebook, generating hundreds of comments ranging from anger to frustration. Leesburg police said they started receiving complaints about the video this past Saturday and “immediately opened an investigation into this disturbing act,” the statement says.
Police quickly learned that the Department of Children and Families had investigated this case on Aug. 30 and determined the incident “did not rise to the level of child abuse.” The police department then conducted an independent criminal investigation and forwarded the video evidence to the State Attorney’s Office with a request to file a warrant for Wolf’s arrest.
“We were informed that further information was needed,” the statement says, adding that officers worked throughout the Labor Day weekend to gather additional information for the State Attorney and again made the request for an arrest warrant Tuesday.
That same day, a Leesburg police detective sergeant, a state attorney and a DCF investigator were present when a child forensic interviewer spoke with the child. Afterwards, the detective sergeant made another request for the State Attorney to move forward with filing charges against Wolf, who is believed to be a licensed practical nurse.
But that didn’t happen after the assessment document was filed by the Forensic Team following the interview. Their report listed “positive findings of threatened harm of mental injury due to bizarre punishment.” But it was “indeterminate of physical abuse and indeterminate of neglect due to inadequate supervision.”
“While we respect the decision from the State Attorney and the Forensic Team, this incident calls for continued intervention for the welfare of the children involved,” the police department statement said. “We asked the Department of Children and Families to assure the children remain safe and have a safety plan.”
The police department also offered thanks to every concerned citizen who reached out to them and expressed their concerns about the video and the welfare of both children involved.
