Henrico daycare director found guilty of failing to report suspected child abuse

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Henrico Juvenile Court judge found a daycare director guilty on one of two counts of failing to report suspected child abuse, issuing a split ruling Monday.

LaRessa Jefferson, director of the KinderCare daycare on Cedar Fork Road in Henrico, was convicted on the second count and found not guilty on the first.
The judge fined her $500.

Both charges stemmed from alleged abuse committed by staff member Bethany Davis. Jefferson, as the daycare's director, was a mandatory reporter under state law.

Davis is accused of abusing seven children over a three-month span earlier this year. Jefferson was accused of failing to report the alleged abuse on two separate occasions.

Watch: KinderCare teacher fired over abuse allegations

First count — not guilty

A mother testified that on April 8, she went to the school and reported her child said Davis had "put hands on him."

Jefferson responded within minutes and said she would look into it, the mother testified. Jefferson later told the mother that Davis denied anything happened and that another teacher questioned about the incident could not say one way or the other.

The mother said she was also told Davis was out on temporary leave during the investigation and would be supervised in the classroom for 30 days upon her return.

Watch: Mom speaks out after daycare arrest: 'No telling what she was doing to my son'

The judge found Jefferson not guilty, siding with the defense's argument that state law requires a mandatory report only when there is reason to suspect something happened — and that Jefferson
did not have reason to suspect abuse after Davis denied it and no other witness could confirm it.

The prosecution had argued the law required Jefferson to report the allegation, not to conduct her own investigation.

Second count — guilty

The second case occurred in June.

A Child Protective Services worker testified that another employee reported concerns about Davis' actions on June 10.

The worker testified they called Jefferson the morning of June 15 to set up an interview — and by that afternoon, Jefferson had filed a duplicate report.

In an interview on June 18, Jefferson told the worker she had been made aware of the abuse on June 11 and that she spoke with Davis, who admitted to pushing a child and being rough. Jefferson said she fired Davis as a result.

The judge found sufficient evidence to convict Jefferson on the second count and fined her $500 as required by law.

Jefferson's attorney said she has 10 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.

Davis' case was also expected to conclude Monday but was continued. It will now be heard on December 14.

This is a developing story, so check back with WTVR.com for updates. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have info, photos or videos to share.