Three employees of a DeKalb County day care were arrested Monday after a parent reported that staff were inappropriately disciplining children, officials said.
Cherretta Hull, 76, and Alexis Renee Swain, 25, were charged with first-degree cruelty to children, and Cassandra Artis Chambers, 54, was charged with failure to report suspected child abuse in connection with an allegation reported July 12 at the Appletree Learning Center and Academy along East Ponce de Leon Avenue, DeKalb police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said.
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning spokesman Reg Griffin previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the parent of an enrolled child reported to police “allegations of inappropriate discipline with toddlers.” As of Tuesday, Griffin said the investigation remains ongoing and the agency is working to determine if any child care rules and regulations were violated.
Police did not provide information on the alleged abuse, or say how long the employees had been working at the day care. Wells did not say how many alleged victims had been identified.
A worker at the day care told the AJC via phone Tuesday evening that they “don’t have any comments at this time” when asked if the women arrested were still employed.
According to DECAL, a monitoring visit at the day care in April 2021 brought up no concerns.
In 2019 during a monitoring visit, the facility had issues with capacity and food services, with DECAL noting that the day care “will limit the number of children in this space to the licensed capacity” and “will train staff and monitor food served to children to ensure that the food does not present a choking hazard,” a report states. The day care also had issues with securing toys and other equipment, supplying activities to support child development, damage to a fence in the playground area, and checking outlets and replacing protective caps, the report also revealed.
In 2018, DECAL followed up with a complaint investigation in relation to missing or incomplete training for some staff and a missing criminal records check for two staff members, another report states. DECAL wrote that the facility would “schedule the required 10 hours of annual training each year” and ensure it was completed and “obtain the Required Satisfactory Records Check Determination before an individual is present at the Center.”
Appletree Learning Center and Academy is not the only DeKalb day care under investigation. Clarkston police were called to the Clarkston First Baptist Academy along Church Street a day after the incident at Appletree was reported, officials said.
A police report obtained by the AJC details surveillance footage that allegedly shows a child being pushed to the ground repeatedly by two teachers over the course of nearly three hours at the Clarkston facility. The child’s mother noticed bruises on the boy’s arm that were not there before he went to day care the same morning. Two people were listed as suspects in the report, but their identities were redacted by police.
Authorities are asking for parents who feel their child has been a victim of abuse at Appletree Learning Center and Academy to contact the DeKalb Special Victims Unit at 770-724-7710.
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