Metro Atlanta
Austell daycare owner's appeal wraps up today
Cobb County police believe 2-year-old Zaryaha Emile was left inside a day care van for at least five hours on May 5. (Family photo)
The appeal hearing for an Austell daycare owner fighting the state’s effort to shut it down after a girl was left on a van for hours is expected to wrap up Tuesday.
Bright Achievers Pre-K, located on Jefferson Street, remains open while Dr. Melinda Hamilton, 59, appeals in the State Office of Administrative Hearings. The Department of Early Care and Learning ordered Bright Achievers closed after two-year-old Zaryaha Emile was forgotten on a daycare van for about five hours. Hamilton is accused of lying to the girl’s family about how long the child was on the van on May 5.
The girl’s mother, Quantina Russell, testified that the daycare’s director, Robin Horton, told her that Zaryaha was left on the van for 15 minutes after a field trip. But another Bright Achievers staffer called to tip her off that the “field trip” story was concocted, and that her daughter had never come in for breakfast that morning and had not been off of the van all day. That staffer, a cook, urged Russell to ask for video that would prove that.
Russell says when she and her mother pressed Hamilton for details about the toddler being on the van for hours, they were told that the video was unavailable, and that Hamilton asked her what she could do to make it right.
“She told me to talk to my mom about not pressing charges, and she also offered $1,000,” said Russell.
No one ever took the girl to the doctor or called for medical help. She was described as "wet" when she was removed from the van. Russell says the Pre-K told her that they had taken the child to get something to eat at Burger King, and they had put her in front of the air conditioner to cool off. Russell says when she took her daughter to the ER, she was told that the girl had mild dehydration. The toddler seemed sluggish, she says, and complained of a headache later. She says that her daughter wakes up screaming every night since the van incident.
Russell has hired an attorney to explore suing. Her lawyer has already sent the daycare a letter seeking its insurance information.
Bob Rubin, Hamilton’s lawyer, says his client will not testify because of the pending criminal charges against her. She is facing charges including false statements, evidence tampering, and reckless conduct. He says that Hamilton passed a lie detector test, and that the polygraph examiner will testify. Rubin blames the director of the daycare, Robin Horton, for the incident. He says the toddler was on the van for hours—and that Horton orchestrated a cover-up. His client, he says, was fed the same made-up field trip story as everyone else.
“Robin Horton directed witnesses to lie to the police, to lie to [the Division of Family and Children Services], to lie to the state agency that supervises daycares,” said Rubin on Monday. “Robin Horton’s trying to get out of trouble, and as a result, she’s putting it on Dr. Hamilton.”
The state’s lawyer, Alethea Cicero-Brown, said Hamilton was the one who got the staff to lie and to eliminate video footage from the center that would have shown what happened. She contends that Bright Achievers put its own interests above that of the children it was supposed to be protecting.
“You will hear deceitful, callous, and one might even say disgusting behavior,” said Cicero-Brown.
Six staffers have been charged, including Hamilton; and Horton, 49, who is accused of false statements and reckless conduct. The others arrested are Dulce Lopez, an assistant; Jean Jeanty, a driver; Brenda Neal, a teacher; and Clement Udotong, a computer technician.
Rubin says Bright Achievers should stay open, because there are many parents who rely on it daily.
Tuesday, the state has several more witnesses to call, including a DFCS representative, and an investigator. In addition to the polygraph examiner, Rubin will call three of the daycare’s staffers who will testify that only Horton, never Hamilton, directed them to lie about the girl’s being left on the van.
