South Carolina – Two unsettling events earlier this year led a former daycare worker to plead guilty to felony charges. Following a negotiated plea deal with the victims’ families’ approval, the 73-year-old appeared in court earlier this week to accept responsibility for two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child.
Plenty of charges
The plea comes several months after officials first started looking into claims of abuse at a private school. Information provided by the 12th Circuit Solicitor’s Office indicates Laurin Boyce was first charged with multiple felonies, including two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child as well as high and aggravated assault and battery, and second-degree assault and battery.
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The accusations were connected to two separate incidents at Maranatha Christian School in Florence County in January.
The incidents took place early this year
Investigators claimed on January 23 that Boyce violently pushed a child’s head into a crib, then covered the infant’s head with a blanket and pressed down for a considerable time before pulling the youngster out of the room. One week later, on January 30, Boyce allegedly dropped a child from waist height after picking them up, knocking them on the ground on the playground and caused them to land on their head.
Law enforcement and the community fast took notice of the events, which led the Sheriff’s Office to detain Boyce in February. Since then, she has remained in jail. During Wednesday’s hearing, the court sentenced Boyce to 90 days on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. She was freed right away after her plea was approved by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge H. Steven DeBerry as she had already spent 93 days behind bars.
Officials underlined that the victims’ families’ involvement helped determine the plea. Assistant Solicitor David Richardson explained that those most affected explicitly consented to this outcome. Judge DeBerry granted the request for time served, ending Boyce’s period of incarceration.
A cover-up
The investigation into child abuse also resulted in accusations against three other school staff members: Lee Patrick, Dawn Kirven, and Jessica Elmore. All are charged with not reporting suspected abuse or neglect, a legal duty for anybody dealing with children in South Carolina. All three remain free on $6,000 bond apiece, with their cases still pending in court.
The case has drawn attention once again to policies and supervision inside childcare centers as well as the need of mandatory reporting legislation aimed to safeguard vulnerable youngsters. No more information on the current condition of the impacted children or the ongoing investigations was made available. The solicitor’s office stated that updates on the remaining cases will be provided as proceedings move forward.
