A daycare worker in Georgia was arrested for child abuse, authorities said, as the father of a toddler under her care shared heartbreaking pictures of the boy with a black eye and swollen face.
Yvette Thurston, 54, faces three counts of first-degree child abuse and one of first-degree aggravated battery, WDRW reports.
She was taken into custody on Monday following a report of alleged abuse at Little Blessings Child Care in Bainbridge, close to the Florida border.
Cory Weeks, a US Marine and dad, took to Facebook to share pictures of the frightening injuries suffered by his 1-year-old son, Clay, on his first day at the church childcare facility.
Weeks’ post included graphic pictures showing Clay’s badly battered face, including a black eye, swelling to his right cheek and multiple 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.”
Clay was rushed to the Memorial Hospital and Manor where his injuries were treated.
Specific details about the case or allegations were not immediately 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) told 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.
Representatives for Little Blessings Child Care did not respond to requests for comment.
