News

Actions

Woman, 19, arrested in connection to abuse of 11-month-old child at Mansfield day care

Posted at 7:49 PM, Aug 05, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-06 10:15:29-04

Sarah Roberts, 19, was arrested on Friday in connection to the abuse of 11-month-old Anastasia Salyers at Step-By-Step Child Care.

Roberts was charged with child endangerment, according to the Richland County Jail where she was booked at 5:45 p.m. on Friday. 

The jail said no bond will be set until Roberts' arraignment on Monday at Mansfield Municipal Court. 

In a 911 call, the 11-month-old's mother Brooklyn Pierce reported that it looked like her daughter was “tossed” by a woman at the day care. She said she saw the surveillance video of what happened at the facility. She then told the dispatcher, “There’s no way she could’ve just been dropped. She was at least 2-3 feet away from the lady.”

The baby girl is suffering from a fractured skull, brain bleed and a fractured arm. Pierce said the baby's arm is now in a cast. The family's attorney, John Rinehardt, said the baby will undergo more brain scans on Friday.

Rinehardt also said Pierce was told the 19-year-old worker involved was terminated.

The following statement was released by Step-By-Step Child Care on Friday:

"The management and staff of Step-By-Step Child Care are deeply concerned for the welfare of Anastasia Salyers and her family. We have and will continue to cooperate in the investigation into the incident reported in the media earlier today. Step-By-Step Child Care has taken all available measures to ensure the continued safety of all of the children whose care has been entrusted to us and whose safety continues to be our number one priority. Due to the sensitive and important nature of the ongoing investigation, Step-By-Step Child Care personnel will not able to comment upon any of the details of the incident. Our facility remains open and we will continue to provide the high-quality childcare services our parents expect."