Another metro Atlanta day care is under investigation for alleged child abuse, authorities announced Thursday. This time, police said security footage shows two teachers punching a child.
Clarkston police received a report of an incident at the Clarkston First Baptist Academy at 4007 Church Street on Wednesday around 11:45 a.m., the department wrote on Facebook.
A police report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details surveillance footage that allegedly shows a child being pushed to the ground repeatedly by two teachers over the course of nearly three hours.
The child’s mother and grandmother first noticed something was wrong Wednesday when the child “did not seem himself” and was visibly upset, the report states. His mother later noticed bruises on the boy’s arm that were not there before he went to day care the same morning.
A church leader who was not identified in the report first told the boy’s mother that she had seen the video and “didn’t see anything happen that was unacceptable,” according to the report.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
When the mother and grandmother saw the video, they saw the child was pulled off the ground by his hair and thrown into a corner, the report states. He also was slapped and punched with a closed fist.
The responding officer asked for the video to be copied to a thumb drive he provided, but staff told him that information technology personnel would have to make the copy and it would be available the following day, according to the report.
Two people were listed as suspects in the report, but their identities were redacted by police.
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning also confirmed two reports had been made, one on Wednesday and one Thursday, concerning allegations of inappropriate discipline at the facility, and an investigation has been opened.
The facility could not be reached for comment Thursday.
A day earlier, DeKalb County police announced an investigation into another day care facility just one mile from the Clarkston center.
Police said they received reports of abuse at the Appletree Learning Center and Academy at 4700 East Ponce de Leon Avenue, and DECAL confirmed that allegations of inappropriate discipline with toddlers had been made.
Details in that case also were not released, including the date of the alleged abuse, but the state said it was alerted Tuesday.
The DeKalb facility was investigated in 2018 for missing or incomplete training for some staff and a missing criminal records check for two staff members, according to DECAL records. The facility agreed to schedule the required 10 hours of annual training each year and to obtain background checks before an individual is present at the center.
In the Clarkston facility’s case, no previous complaints appear to have been logged.
A third day care, ABC Learning Academy in Stockbridge, is also under investigation by police and the state after a 3-year-old child was found by police wandering alone in a parking lot in a high-traffic area last week.
About the Author
