An alleged abuser was arrested while attempting to remove a child from Villages Elementary at Lady Lake.
Demond Jamar Woods, 49, was arrested at about 11 a.m. Thursday when he showed up at the school on Rolling Acres Road, according to an arrest report from the Lady Lake Police Department. The New Jersey native, who stands 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 180 pounds, was trying to take the child out of school. A detective had been called to the school to investigate the abuse complaint.
Woods admitted he had “punished” the child for “bad behavior at school,” the report said. Woods claimed he did not use a closed fist, but had used an open palm to twice strike the little girl.
Woods’ girlfriend showed police photos of bruises he had inflicted on her and the child.
He was arrested on a felony charge of child abuse. He was booked at the Lake County Jail on $2,500 bond.
He had been jailed in December on an Alachua County warrant charging him with failure to pay child support.
