A taxpayer-funded babysitter who mercilessly beat two young children flashed a carefree smile Wednesday when she was finally arrested – nearly a month after videos of the attacks were given to authorities.
La’keysha Jackson, 24, vacantly smirked Wednesday as NYPD detectives led her out of the Bronx Special Victims Unit, hours after cops cuffed her for beating a pair of kids with a belt nearly 60 times.
She’s facing a slew of charges including two counts of assault in the second degree and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.
“Our clients can rest easier now knowing that Ms. Jackson is no longer on the street,” the family’s lawyer, Daniel Szalkiewicz, told The Post. “We thank the NYPD for helping this family heal and for ensuring there will be accountability for Ms. Jackson’s actions.”
The horrifying video was turned over to cops May 6, but it was a month before a warrant was issued for her arrest — and another two weeks before she was taken into custody.
“Our clients can rest easier now knowing that Ms. Jackson is no longer on the street,” the family’s lawyer, Daniel Szalkiewicz, told The Post. “We thank the NYPD for helping this family heal and for ensuring there will be accountability for Ms. Jackson’s actions.”
Jackson worked for Bronx mother Geraldine Jaramillo starting last year via a contractor paid for by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services that provides struggling families with baby-sitters to help with caretaking.
Days after The Post reported on the brutal video, the city’s Department of Investigation launched a probe, saying that the story raised “serious concerns about the vetting practices of this ACS-contracted vendor, among other issues.”
Nearly $400 million in city contracts have been awarded to the vendor, Selfhelp, since 2008, according to city records.
Before the family discovered the beatings, everyone “loved” Jackson — including teachers at the kids’ school, Jaramillo recalled.
That all changed on May 6 when a doting grandma discovered the heartless beatings because the web-connected camera in her daughter’s home was sending her notifications at odd hours.
When the Pennsylvania-based grandma checked the camera, she was horrified to see that the babysitter was beating two of her grandkids, boys ages 4 and 6.
“We called the police and filed the report and we went to the hospital,” Jaramillo told The Post of the aftermath of the shocking May 6 incident.
Archived footage on the camera revealed at least a month of beatings that also included Jaramillo’s youngest boy, aged 2, according to the family and a legal filing.
“She was beating the kids every other day,” said the kids’ grandpa Rudy Enamorado, who drove two hours from his Pennsylvania home once he saw the footage. “The worst thing we did was let our guard down.”
Despite a slew of detectives arriving at the house, the cops failed to arrest her that evening, Enamorado said.
Jackson was fired from the ACS contractor once officials learned of the incident, according to reps from the agency and vendor Selfhelp.
She was arraigned in front of Bronx Supreme Court Justice Audrey Stone and held on $75,000 bail or $150,000 bond, prosecutors said.
“The defendant, hired as a babysitter, allegedly struck two young boys multiple times while they screamed in agony,” District Attorney Darcel Clark said. “She betrayed their mother’s trust and traumatized the children.”
A spokesperson for City Hall said “there is nothing more reprehensible” than child abuse.
“We are grateful to the NYPD for apprehending this individual, and we trust that justice will be carried out swiftly and to the fullest extent of the law,” spokesperson Allison Maser said. “Our administration is actively reviewing ACS’ contract with the agency who hired this vile individual.”
Since 2008, Selfhelp has been awarded $393.2 million in city contracts, with $83 million in active contracts, according to records.
Its relationship with ACS stretches back to 2009, with a total of $92.2 million in contracts for Homemaker services — the same service utilized by Jaramillo — records show, with an active contract for $19.3 million that runs until Dec. 2026.
Jackson was the second sitter sent to the family after the first Selfhelp employee was discovered boozing and smoking at a playground while watching the three kids, according to the legal filing.
DOI spokesperson Diane Struzzi told The Post that “while DOI intends to conduct an investigation,” their access to caregiver records and involvement with children “may be precluded by State law,” an issue thoroughly laid out by Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber in an opinion essay published last month.
“These access limitations can thwart our investigations,” Struzzi said.
ACS told The Post earlier this month that it was conducting its own investigation into “these despicable actions,” but declined to comment on Jackson’s arrest.
Selfhelp also declined to provide any comment on the arrest.
Jackson is due back in court on Aug. 12.
