Preschool teacher charged with child abuse and failing to report sexual abuse of a child

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Diane Marie Valentino, 37, was arrested early this morning and charged with failing to report child abuse after she allegedly saw a teenage boy touching a younger girl in a sexual manner but did not report it because she did not want the boy to have a criminal record; in a separate incident, she was charged with child abuse for allegedly slapping a child in the face, biting him, and hitting him with a toy guitar.

An Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy was called to a residence by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) on October 20 after Valentino reportedly disclosed in an interview that she knew about the sexual abuse incident.

The locations of the incidents are being withheld to protect the identities of the victims, but the incidents are not connected with any school.

Separately, a child told a different deputy that Valentino had slapped him in the face, and when he tried to turn away, her nails scratched him. He said she bit him in the leg and then hit him with a toy guitar, breaking the guitar. The victim reportedly had scratches on his face and a bruise on his leg, and he was transported to a hospital to be evaluated. Two witnesses reportedly corroborated the boy’s story.

Post Miranda in an interview about the sexual abuse allegation, Valentino reportedly said she saw the boy touching the girl in a manner “that would be considered Lewd and Lascivious Molestation if [committed by] an adult.” She said she told the boy that what he was doing was wrong, but he was “unreceptive” and became violent and abusive. Although she is a preschool teacher who is familiar with mandatory reporting requirements, she said she did not report the incident because she did not want the boy to have a criminal record.

Post Miranda in an interview about the child abuse allegation, Valentino reportedly admitted swinging an open palm at the child, but she said she did it to discipline him. She said she was not aware of any injuries, and she did not admit to biting him, but she reportedly admitted grabbing a toy guitar. She said she did not intend to maliciously harm the victim.

DCF and law enforcement are continuing to investigate the sexual abuse allegations.

Valentino has been charged with child abuse and failure to report child abuse. She has no local criminal history, and Senior Judge Bo Bayer set bail on the charge of failing to report abuse at $10,000; bail on the child abuse charge will be set tomorrow.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.