Mom who 'forcibly dunked' someone else's 6-year-old underwater at a hotel pool will avoid jail

A Florida woman pleaded guilty after being accused of dunking a child underwater at a hotel pool.

Tiffany Griffith, 36, avoided trial and entered a guilty plea to one count of child abuse in connection with an incident at a resort in Kissimmee, Florida, late last year. As Law&Crime previously reported, Griffith was at the pool at the Gaylord Palms resort on Dec. 19, 2025, when her son purportedly got into an "aggressive" splashing match with another child. Police said Griffith got into the pool and "forcibly dunked" a 6-year-old boy under the water for "several seconds" after yelling at him.

According to witnesses who spoke to police, three children, including Griffith's 6-year-old son, were playing in the pool together when "the splashing became aggressive." Griffith purportedly saw her son get dunked underwater by the victim and got into the pool herself. She then "yelled" at the other boy, put her hands on his shoulders, and "forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds."

Before leaving the pool area with her son, Griffith yelled at the victim's parents. She was later located by police at the resort and arrested. Police charged her with aggravated child abuse, and she spent five days in the Osceola County Jail.

During her initial court appearance, Griffith's defense attorney argued that she may not have been responsible for the nosebleed the victim had when he went back to his parents. In response, the judge asked the attorney, "So, you don't think that the placing both hands on his shoulders, forcibly submerging him underwater, and holding him underwater is sufficient?"

The attorney eventually said, "I would withdraw my argument, I guess."

More from Law&Crime: Mom on family vacation 'forcibly dunked' someone else's 6-year-old into resort pool after the boy did the same to her son, police say

According to court records reviewed by Law&Crime, Griffith pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse on June 3. She was sentenced to time served, 18 months of probation, and 50 hours of community service. She was also ordered to take anger management classes.