HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The director of a KinderCare in Henrico County faces two misdemeanor charges for allegedly failing to report suspected child abuse.
Laressa Jefferson made her first court appearance Tuesday in Henrico General District Court.
Jefferson is the director of the KinderCare on Cedar Fork Road. Her charges stem from a child abuse case against Bethany Davis, a daycare worker at the same facility. Davis is accused of pinching, flicking, and pulling the hair of 7 different children between April 1 and June 30 of this year. Prosecutors say the majority of the children are two-years-old.
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Jefferson is accused of being aware of two of those incidents — one on April 8 and another on June 11 — but failing to report them.
Henrico County Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor says Jefferson, as a daycare employee, is what is known as a mandated reporter.
"We have a law that will lay out the particular professions that are mandated to contact child protective services if there is a suspicion of abuse and neglect," Taylor said. "That is the standard: is that you have knowledge of the suspicion of the child abuse, and you do not call ... child protective services."
Investigators say they began their investigation when two other employees called Child Protective Services following the alleged incident on June 11.
LaVesha Ingram, the mother of one of the alleged victims — a child she refers to as Vee — says Jefferson told her to expect a call from CPS but claimed she did not know what it was about.
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"But I knew in my heart that you did know, because for you to keep saying you don't know, but the fact that you did know because you're the director," Ingram said.
Ingram says she supports the charges against Jefferson.
"I'm glad she's getting charged," Ingram said.
Both of Jefferson's charges are Class 3 Misdemeanors, which do not carry jail time.
Taylor says the investigation is ongoing and is encouraging any parents who believe their child may have been a victim in the past year to come forward.
"We always want to make sure is that we're doing everything we can to protect our children, to protect our vulnerable populations," Taylor said.
Taylor says the case is reminiscent of a previous situation involving injured NICU babies at Henrico Doctors Hospital, after which she prosecuted and lobbied to strengthen reporting laws.
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"When parents leave their children in the care of others, that those adults are doing their job and that they are protecting their children, and there will be no harm to their children. And certainly, any time we come across those circumstances, we are going to prosecute," Taylor said.
Jefferson's case has been moved to Juvenile Court, with another hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Taylor says prosecutors will ask the court to combine her case with Davis's so they can stand trial together in October.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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