Day Care Worker In Burke County Charged with Cruelty to Children
A day care worker at First Step Learning Academy on Liberty Street in Waynesboro has been arrested.
Colonel Jimmy Wylds of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year-old Jazmin McCallister of Morris Drive was taken into custody after a video showed her allegedly striking a child at the day care center,
McCallister was charged with Cruelty to Children in the 1st Degree and is being held at the Burke County Detention Center.
“The investigation is ongoing,” said Wylds.
This week’s incident comes one month after an incident involving a day care worker in Grovetown was reported.
Worker at Grovetown Day Care Arrested in April
A day care worker at Next Generation Learning Center on Old Wrightsboro Road in Grovetown was arrested in late April after video revealed she had allegedly pushed a toddler down with her foot.
The Grovetown Police Department was called by the child’s mother who said her son was “visibly upset and inconsolable” when she arrived to pick him up.
Once officers reviewed video of the incident, they charged 26-year-old Lataya Regine-Monae Davis of Grovetown with one count of Simple Battery.
A police incident report says Davis “pushed the child in his torso with her foot, at which time he fell and landed in a seated position.”
The report added the child did not appear to have suffered any injuries
How to Tell if Something is Wrong
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several warning signs to watch for with physical or mental abuse.
- Unexplained injuries
- Injuries that don’t match the given explanation
- Delayed or inappropriate emotional development
- Loss of self-confidence or self-esteem
- Social withdrawal or a loss of interest or enthusiasm
- Depression
- Avoidance of certain situations, such as refusing to go to school
- Appears to desperately seek affection
- Changes in behavior–such as aggression, anger, hostility or hyperactivity–or changes in school performance
