An Ocala woman was arrested after she allegedly walked up to a child and started hitting her because she didn’t dance with her or give her a hug.
Jesaka Nikole Downs, 35, was charged with child abuse without great bodily harm. The witness who reported the recent incident told a Marion County sheriff’s deputy that Downs was drinking alcohol and being belligerent.
The witness said out of nowhere, Downs became irate and started acting insane. The witness said two juvenile girls were sitting on the couch inside the residence when Downs walked up to them and started hitting one of them for no apparent reason. The relationship between Downs and the girls was redacted from the sheriff’s office report.
The deputy observed a video that showed Downs walk up to the victim twice and, for no apparent reason, hit the victim in the head with an open hand, grabbed her by the upper body and got in her face. The other time, Downs slapped the victim in the arm. Both times, the victim was lying on the couch doing nothing, the report said.
In the video, while Downs was hitting the victim, a witness came over and asked her why she was hitting her and tried to get between Downs and the victim as Downs continued to jab at the victim. Another witness walked up and put her hand in front of Downs to de-escalate the situation. Downs yelled out, “They have been little (multiple expletives deleted) for the past two weeks,” according to the report.
Two other witnesses reported they observed Downs hitting the victim for no apparent reason while the children were lying on the couch watching a movie, the report said.
Downs told the deputy she had been drinking but stopped about two hours earlier. The deputy told her there was a video of the incident and asked her if she hit the child, and Downs replied she hadn’t seen the video so, “I don’t know,” according to the report.
Downs then said she was probably joking around, and that the deputy could ask the kids what happened. She said she was not mad at the victim and had no reason to hit her. Downs had dilated pupils, bloodshot watery eyes, and an odor of alcohol on her breath, the report said.
The victim spoke with the victim after receiving Downs’ consent. The victim said she was lying down when Downs came up and started hitting her. She said Downs pushed her head and hit her arm. Asked why Downs was mad, the victim said it was because she and the other girl didn’t dance with her or give her a hug, according to the report.
The other girl who was on the couch said Downs didn’t hit her. Asked why Downs hit the victim, she said Downs was drunk and the girls didn’t dance with her, and earlier in the day they didn’t retrieve her cigarettes for her. The girl said at one point, Downs grabbed her arm while she was on the couch. The video didn’t show Downs grabbing the second girl on the arm, the report said.
Downs was place under arrest and taken to the Marion County Jail, where she was released on her own recognizance. She’s due to appear in Marion County Court on May 19.