Babysitter Accused of Using Facebook While Child Drowned

A Dallas woman who allegedly was distracted by Facebook has been charged after a 3-year-old girl she was babysitting drowned in a pool.

Kanyce Giddings drowned June 22 at an apartment complex pool.

Police say Kariasa Thomas, 37, took Giddings and some older children to the pool at her apartment complex pool after it had officially closed. She told police that she knew Giddings could not swim and told her to stay near the steps of the pool.

According to a police affidavit, Thomas told police she used her phone to log on to Facebook and played with her dog while the children were in the water.

About 15 minutes later, a Dallas police officer told Thomas the pool was closed and that she and the children had to leave. Giddings' body was then discovered in the pool.

Dallas County jail records show Thomas is being held on a charge of reckless injury to a child.

The girl's father, Derrick Giddings, said he feels the charge should be upgraded. The drowning wasn't a simple accident, and his daughter suffered while drowning, he said.

Derrick Giddings said he spoke to Thomas for the last time before she was arrested.

"If she was right here, I wouldn't want to say nothing to her because, in the back of my mind, what I'm thinking and what I want to do -- I would be in trouble, too, so I wouldn't say nothing," he said. "I don't even want to talk to her. ... My last words was to her, 'I forgive you,' because that's what I'm supposed to do. That's it. I don't never want to talk to her no more."

Thomas was booked Saturday with bond set at $25,000. No attorney could immediately be located for her Wednesday.

Thomas' family declined to comment.

NBC DFW's Randy McIlwain contributed to this report.

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