BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Parents trust daycare workers to protect and care for their kids after they’re dropped off for the day.
But one Lowcountry mother says her child’s teacher hurt some of the kids.
"We trusted these people to keep our son safe, and they failed to do that," Jasmine Cook, the mother of Devari Mazyck, said.
Cook says she started dropping off her 3-year-old son Devari Mazyck at St. James AME childcare in October.
"We had family in this school," Cook said.
Last Wednesday, Cook said she asked her son a normal question and received an unexpected answer.
"I asked him, I was like, 'Hey what happened at school today?' He said, 'Hurt me. I said, 'What hurt you.' He said, 'Teacher'," Cook said.
Cook says a relative who works at the daycare facility later called the family saying they had surveillance video.
You can see two children getting slapped, and then the teacher going across the table and yanking the back of my son's head," Cook said.Devari hasn’t been back since.
"You can clearly see from the video that this teacher is way too comfortable putting her hands on those children," Cook said.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office arrested 70-year-old Delores Frazier Harris and charged her with three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child.
"Why someone would do this to a child? I mean, they are the innocent among us. They just don't deserve to be assaulted," said John Caddell, who is with the Criminal Investigations Division.
Harris got a $30,000 bond.
Lt. Caddell says they will work closely with DSS and DHEC to investigate the daycare’s license.
"They deserve for us to protect them," Caddell said.
Cook says it was deputies and not the daycare that told the other victim’s parents what happened to their kids.
"Who can I trust now? I'm angry at the school director for trying not to tell us about his and trying to have it covered up," Cook said.
St. James AME Child Care provided a statement:
"Harris was immediately terminated after the report was made to the director concerning her behavior and all parents were notified the following day. St. James AME Church Child Care does not condone violence against any of our children.”
Cook is now having to take off work while looking for a place where they can start over.
"Today, we're going to like new daycares. We're definitely gonna do a lot more research next time before we put him anywhere else," Cook said.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, unlawful conduct towards a child is a felony that carries a 10-year maximum on each charge.
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