Unlicensed Daycare Worker Accused of Breaking Child’s Legs Tells Cops: I’d ‘Rather Be Deported than Go to Jail’

An unlicensed daycare worker in Utah accused of breaking a child’s legs reportedly told police that she would “rather be deported than go to jail.”

Elvira Ortega, 66, reportedly made the remarks in front of Salt Lake City Police after she was charged with child abuse for slamming the child feet first onto a bathroom floor, KSTU reported.

Court documents say that the boy is less than a year old and was under Ortega’s care when his injuries occurred on February 23. Police arrested Ortega after the child’s parents brought him to the hospital the day the injuries occurred, the Associated Press reported.

The infant’s legs were reportedly broken below the knees.

Salt Lake City Police Detective Greg Wilking told Fox News that Ortega was believed to be a flight risk but could not comment on her immigration status, citing department policy.

Wilking said that Ortega, though she did not have a daycare license, cared for multiple children in her Salt Lake City home around the time the incident occurred.