Cops: 2 more charged, day care shuttered after toddlers drugged at nap time

Meanwhile, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said two other employees were charged Tuesday, including a second teacher and the day care’s director. Additional charges also were filed against an employee accused of administering the over-the-counter Benadryl to toddlers to make them drowsy before their daily naps.

Shelby Webb, a teacher, was charged with simple battery and first-degree cruelty to children, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. Cathy Stevick, the center’s director, turned herself in early Tuesday after being charged with three counts of failure to report child abuse, authorities said.

Kendasia Hughley, the teacher accused of drugging the 2-year-olds earlier this month, now faces 16 charges, including six counts of first-degree cruelty to children, eight counts of simple battery and two counts of reckless conduct, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office said.

All three women are out on bond, jail records show. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reached out to the church’s pastor for comment and additional information about the investigation into the day care employees.

The state agency that oversees Georgia’s childcare facilities says it learned of the incident March 10, a week after Hughley first was accused of administering the allergy medication to children in her care, records show. An investigation by the state agency found at least three separate 2-year-olds were given Benadryl at the facility without parental authorization.

The first known incident allegedly occurred March 3 when one child was given allergy medication. Two days later, the over-the-counter medication was given to three children, officials found.

An order for the intended emergency closure of the facility said the employee was seen using two medicine syringes and one dose cup to administer medication to the toddlers before their naps. Another employee reported the incident to the facility’s management March 5, but officials said none of the children’s parents were informed.

Instead, management instructed the staff member who dispensed the medication to fill out a “medication authorization form” for all three children, DECAL found. Those forms require a parental signature along with the date, time and dosage to be administered, records show. But authorities said neither the day care center nor the director ever notified the parents that their children were given allergy medication, even though it isn’t intended for anyone under the age of 6.

“The parents of the children reported observing their respective children being sluggish and ‘not normal’ when they picked them up from school on multiple days,” the closure order said. “It remains unknown how often and for what period of time the children were dispensed Benadryl while in care at the center.”

Despite learning of the incident and reviewing the day care’s surveillance footage, the state agency said management took no disciplinary action against Hughley until law enforcement got involved. They also found she had gotten in trouble with her employer for previous incidents, including “inappropriate discipline.”

Officials said they discovered additional violations while watching the surveillance footage, noting staff members “routinely raise their voices at children.”

“In addition, staff members routinely handle the 2-year-old old children roughly by ‘wrestling’ with them by picking them up up and throwing them on their mats,” investigators found.

Officials said the facility will remain closed for 21 days amid the ongoing investigation. A final decision then will be made on what action should be taken. That could include fines, improvement plans or even the revocation of the center’s license.