The license of a DeKalb County day care has been revoked after two employees were arrested on child abuse charges and its director was charged with failing to report them, state officials announced Wednesday.
The license revocation was issued Monday for Clarkston First Baptist Academy by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL), spokesman Reg Griffin said in a news release. The church’s day care will lose its license “in response to multiple incidents of inappropriate discipline at the facility,” Griffin said.
Two employees were arrested in early August on first-degree cruelty to children charges after they were seen on security camera footage hitting and screaming at a 3-year-old boy, according to DeKalb police.
Autumn Coney, 43, and Bernetta Glover, 21, turned themselves in at the DeKalb jail Aug. 1 and Aug. 4, respectively. The charges stemmed from an incident caught on video July 6, which DECAL described in its letter of revocation as more than 40 instances of child cruelty over a two-hour period.
About three weeks after Coney and Glover were arrested, 63-year-old Angela Moore, the director of Clarkston First Baptist Academy, was also charged with failing to report child abuse, police said. Moore is the wife of the church’s pastor, Karl D. Moore.
Coney’s and Glover’s arrest warrants accuse the women of hitting, pushing, grabbing and yelling at the child over the course of two hours. Both were released from jail within two days of their bookings.
According to Griffin, Clarkston First Baptist Academy has 10 days to appeal its license revocation. DECAL will provide free resources to parents affected by the day care losing its license, including assistance in finding new, quality childcare options.
Parents of children enrolled at Clarkston First Baptist Academy can access those free resources at www.qualityrated.org or by calling 1-877-255-4254.
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