A day care in Sneads Ferry, North Carolina, closed its doors on Monday after police say a provider allegedly harmed one of its students on purpose. According to authorities, on June 10, 23-year-old Bethan Pringle intentionally dropped an 11-month-old boy on his head and has been taken into custody on charges of child abuse.
ABC 11
As reported by JDNews.com, Pringle allegedly hurt the boy so badly that he sustained head trauma at the Childcare Networkโs Sneads Ferry location. She and another day care provider were in charge of the infant care room and have since been fired after an internal investigation into the incident. Pringle was arrested June 19 and charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury.
The boy is expected to recover from his injuries, officials told the News & Observer.
An investigation conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services has also reportedly revealed that the day care had several other infractions.
The News & Observer reported that DHS initially suspended the center's license after examining video footage and gathering other damning information.
The agency found that the center had โmultiple incidents of inappropriate treatment of children by two staff members.โ JDNews.com added that state officials also discovered that facility management had willfully provided falsified information regarding the training and orientation of staff members, which is a violation of state statute. The agency โsummarily suspendedโ the day care, which could result in the revocation or suspension of its license, although Childcare Network has the opportunity to appeal its case.
Day care officials also told WDBJ 7 that it fired the location's director and closed the infant care rooms on June 21.
The center has closed its doors but vows to make amends to parents.
โWe understand the State of North Carolinaโs decision and have closed our Sneads Ferry location effective (July 1)," a statement from the center read. "The safety and well-being of the children we serve is, and always will be, Childcare Networkโs foremost priority.โ
The center will โcooperate fully with the ongoing state and local investigations into an injury to a child in an infant care room on June 10. We expect all of our employees to follow the law and all licensing requirements fully, and we expect them to always act in the best interests of the children in our care,โ the statement continued.
Center officials plan on "developing a comprehensive training program for all the teachers there."
More importantly, however, the day care has vowed to do things better in the future and hopes to reopen the Sneads Ferry location eventually. โWe will do everything we can to restore the stateโs, the parentsโ, and the communityโs trust and confidence that our Sneadโs Ferry location can again provide the very best child care and early education,โ the statement read.
โUntil then, we are sorry for the inconvenience this sudden closure will have on the parents who have relied on us to care for and teach their children. We will miss seeing them every day, and we wish them the best. We are here to help, and we will do what we can to minimize the impact on area families.โ
Authorities have confirmed more arrests are possible as the investigation develops.
This story was originally published om Mom.me sister site CafeMom.
