State worker tasked with caring for abused kids accused of ‘aggressively’ grabbing, throwing 11-year-old foster child

A 41-year-old man who worked with Florida‘s abused foster children who have yet to be assigned to live full-time with a family has been accused of “aggressively” grabbing and throwing an 11-year-old girl onto a couch, according to police. Bruises in the form of his handprint remained on the girl days later, cops allege.

Cordell Baugh-Samuels faces a child abuse charge. Wildwood police responded April 29 to a Department of Children and Families Kids Central facility for a report of abuse, a probable cause arrest affidavit said.

The girl told cops that on April 24 Baugh-Samuels, her assigned case manager, allegedly grabbed her and threw her on a couch. The girl is a foster child on a “night-to-night” placement, the affidavit said. Cops noted while interviewing that she had two bruises on her left arm “in a finger pattern, indicative of being grabbed with a great deal of force,” the affidavit said.

“It should be noted that these marks were still visible five days after the incident,” detectives wrote.

Police reviewed video of the incident. It showed Baugh-Samuels standing in the doorway and the girl walk up to him in an apparent attempt to walk out of the room, according to the affidavit. Baugh-Samuels stopped her from doing so and told her to go to the couch.

“The victim became upset and attempted to crawl out the door, at which time the defendant aggressively grabbed the victim, picked her up from under the armpits, lifted her over the couch, and threw her onto the couch,” cops wrote.

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The video showed the child then started hitting her head on a wall. Baugh-Samuels went up to the girl “in an intimidating manner” and appeared to yell at her, the affidavit said.

“The victim instantly balled up, lifted her arms, and tucked her face down, indicative of trying to shield herself in fear,” cops wrote.

A witness told cops that he yelled at the girl something along the lines of “you’re not going to pull that sh–,” according to the affidavit.

Baugh-Samuels in an interview with detectives claimed he “guided” the girl back to the couch after she tried to leave. He said he did not know there were video cameras in the room. Cops arrested him and took him to the Sumter County Detention Center where he has since bonded out. His next court date is scheduled for June 17.

According to its website, Kids Central is a nonprofit agency that treats and prevents child abuse in Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties. DCF contacts with the agency after Florida privatized child abuse treatment and prevention.

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