The Lexington County Sheriff's Department revealed that three female day care workers at Windsor Academy, a Lexington childcare center, have been arrested in connection with an investigation into a child abuse case.
According to warrants issued by authorities, 36-year-old Sharna Nicole McKnight is charged with infliction of great bodily harm upon a child, while 49-year-old Jeannie H. Locklear and 38-year-old Amy Marie Grice are both charged with obstructing justice.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon told WIS that this particular case started last month with a call to a child's mother from Windsor Academy in Lexington. Koon said that the daycare told the mother her child's leg was hurt in the railing of a crib.
Video showed McKnight breaking child's leg
Doctors determined the child's leg was broken, according to investigators. Koon said that as part of their work on the investigation, detectives asked to review video from inside Windsor Academy to know more about the incident.
Koon said that Locklear and Grice told them that the camera system was not working when the child got injured. Koon told ABC Columbia that they eventually recovered the video and the sheriff's department determined both Locklear and Grice took steps to delete the video after they watched it. Koon said those actions prompted the obstructing justice charges that were filed against the two of them.
Recovered video from the childcare center shows McKnight folding the child's legs under them, holding onto the child's left leg and flipping the kid into a crib, according to the arrest warrant. Koon said that based on the detectives' review of the video, the child was crawling and playing without any visible pain before the incident.
Koon added that the child then cried as the kid was unable to put weight on the broken leg after the incident. McKnight, Grice and Locklear were all arrested on Friday morning with the day care workers taken to the Lexington County Detention Center. The South Carolina Department of Social Services is assisting the Lexington County Sheriff's Department in the investigation.
South Carolina ranked 41st in U.S. in terms of child well-being
April happens to be Child Abuse Prevention Month and according to the Children's Trust of South Carolina, the state is ranked 41st in the U.S. in terms of child well-being. Charleston County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) displayed their support for child abuse prevention last April at a walk hosted by the Charleston County Department of Social Services.
Charleston County DSS hosted the Child Abuse Prevention Walk in Park Circle. CCSO is encouraging the community to learn more about red flags and resources when it comes to child abuse.
According to Children's Trust of South Carolina, Child Abuse Prevention Month is their opportunity to plant the seeds of support for what they know must happen all year round. The group said that the more they can show people how their actions can prevent child abuse and neglect, the more people will understand how prevention efforts can work in their respective communities.
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