A second person has been charged in connection to a 2-year-old being left on a daycare van for five hours, according to Cobb County police.
Clement Samuel Udotong, 47, of Austell, was arrested and charged with obstruction for allegedly lying to police about removing computers from the Bright Achievers Pre-K Center in Austell, according to his arrest warrant.
On the morning of May 7, two days after Zaryaha Emile was found on the daycare van instead of inside the center, Udotong was called to the daycare to service a computer, he told Cobb police.
Investigators later learned, “that the accused removed a digital recorder used to store video surveillance footage, and removed a hard drive from the device for a suspect in the investigation,” the warrant states.
Udotong was booked into the Cobb County jail and later released on $1,000 bond, records showed.
The center’s owner, Melinda Hamilton, allegedly lied to Zaryaha’s parents about how long the girl was left on the van, according to police. Hamilton also allegedly instructed employees to lie about what happened.
Hamilton, 59, of Atlanta, was arrested May 9 and charged with false statements, tampering with evidence and reckless conduct. She was released the next morning from the Cobb jail after posting $25,000, booking records showed.
The state agency that monitors daycare centers ordered Bright Achievers to be closed during the investigation. But the daycare is appealing the closure and can remain open during the appeal process, according to Reg Griffin with the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning. State monitors will be at the center each day during its operating hours, Griffin said.
The State Office of Administrative Hearings has scheduled the daycare’s appeal hearing for Monday at 1:30 p.m., Griffin said Friday afternoon.
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