In a recently filed suit, two Lowcountry parents say their 10-month-old daughter was beaten by a daycare worker in Charleston, South Carolina.
Parents filed a personal injury lawsuit against Cadence Academy Preschool and a former childcare worker Sandra Meabon on February 24 in Charleston County.
Cadence Academy is a preschool and private daycare with daycare programs for babies and children up to 12 years old. Cadence is located in Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach and Greenville.
According to the lawsuit, on January 17, 2019, the 10-month-old “MJ” girl was being cared for at Cadence Academy on Magwood Drive in Charleston when her mother received a worrying phone call.
The regional director of Cadence Academy told MJ’s mother that her baby “was hit on the back of the head by an employee and that employee was suspended due to the incident,” the suit said.
The director refused to give the mother the employee’s name, according to the suit.
A social worker from the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) began investigating the incident, but soon closed the case because she was unable to see any visual injury to the baby six days after the incident, according to the lawsuit.
The social worker discovered that Meabon, who was the director of the Cadence Academy program at the time, was the alleged perpetrator.
An investigator interviewed another daycare worker who witnessed the incident.
The daycare said MJ was crying when Meabon came to her and “hit the top of her head with an open hand, and said, ‘we don’t do that'”, according to the lawsuit.
Later, she told the investigator that Meabon hit MJ 4-5 times.
MJ then lost his balance and fell to the ground, still crying, the lawsuit said. Meabon supposedly left her crying.
Another employee told the investigator that other daycare workers were afraid to report the incident because of “Meabon’s record of getting coworkers fired,” the suit said.
The other daycare worker said she heard Meabon hit the baby several times and said, “shut up, ugly baby,” the lawsuit said.
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When the investigator interviewed Meabon about the incident, she said. “She is a 10-month-old child. You do not discipline a 10-month-old child. “
Meabon told the investigator that Cadence Academy officials were not sure why they suspended it.
After the incident, MJ’s parents noticed that she had bruises on her face and was struggling to keep her head up, the lawsuit said. MJ was born with a neck disease called torticollis, which causes his head to tilt.
MJ’s parents noticed that her neck condition worsened after the incident, according to the lawsuit.
Meabon was fired from Cadence Academy on January 25 for violating Cadence Academy policies, according to the lawsuit.
Meabon, who lives in Dorchester County, was hired as director of the Children’s Center at St. Lukes Children’s Center in Summerville, South Carolina, in April 2020. It is unclear whether she still works there.
MJ’s parents are suing for negligence, gross negligence, aggression and aggression, negligent infliction of emotional suffering, negligent supervision and negligent retention.
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The suit states that MJ “suffered serious injuries”, which required medical treatment.
Charleston attorney Matthew Yelverton is representing MJ’s parents in the process.
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