Police have arrested a Georgia daycare worker for child abuse after the father of a toddler under her care shared heartbreaking pictures of the boy with a black eye and swollen face.
54-year-old Yvette Thurston is facing three counts of first-degree child abuse and one of first-degree aggravated battery, per WDRW.
On Monday, Thurston was taken into custody after a report of alleged abuse at Little Blessings Child Care in Bainbridge, close to the Florida border.
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A US Marine and dad, Cory Weeks, the boy’s father, took to Facebook to share pictures of the frightening injuries his 1-year-old son, Clay, suffered on his first day at the church childcare facility.
Weeks’ post came with graphic pictures showing Clay’s badly battered face, including a black eye, swelling to his right cheek, and several cuts.
“This is every parent’s worst nightmare and we had to live it and are still living it,” he wrote on social media, describing how Clay and his older brother Wyatt, 3, had started at the daycare facility on Monday.
“We were told another child in Clay’s class did this type of damage with a plastic toy,” he said, before adding that he eventually tracked down video surveillance footage of the incident that showed Thurston attacking his son.
“Nothing we saw was for the faint-hearted, especially happening to such an innocent soul,” he said.
“The severity of the acts of violence to our son has everyone confident that this was not her first time. We trusted this facility to care and love our kids and on their first day that was violated,” he wrote.
“There will be more coming from this, and we will make sure nothing is ‘swept under the rug,’ he said.”
The toddler was rushed to the Memorial Hospital and Manor, where his injuries were treated.
For now, specific details about the case or allegations about the Georgia worker are yet to be released, but Decatur County investigators confirmed that they were able to view surveillance footage from the daycare which contributed to the investigation.
“It is our understanding that the employee has been terminated by the child care program,” a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) said to The Post.
“As our investigation is still in its early stages, DECAL will continue to work closely with law enforcement and all relevant parties to ensure a comprehensive review of the facts,” the statement continued.
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The Daycare representatives are yet to respond to the situation in an official capacity.
