Teacher and director of Christian preschool arrested on child abuse charges
Two women, a teacher and the director of the Foundations Christian Preschool on South Belair Road in Augusta, Georgia, were arrested after being accused of physically abusing a child at the school and then not reporting that abuse. The teacher, 27-year-old Shannon McCune, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree. The director of the preschool, 34-year-old Melinda Sue Williams, was arrested on December 26 and charged with failure to report that child abuse,” according to a December 27 report from The Augusta Chronicle.
Back on December 22, officials with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office responded to two separate parental complaints alleging that children were coming home from the preschool with visible bruising. Police reports and warrants issued following those complaints stated that at least two children, ages four and five, had been abused at the preschool, according to ABC News affiliate WJBF NewsChannel 6. Documents state that the teacher, McCune, hit a four-year-old boy with a flag pole, basically striking the child with an American flag. McCune was also accused of grabbing a five-year-old boy by the arm and striking him with a yard stick – on multiple occasions.
A second warrant was issued for the director of the preschool, Williams, after it became apparent that she never filed a report about McCune’s alleged abuse after parents reported that possible abuse to her at the school. “Pictures of the child’s injuries were sent to Williams, but no report was filed with police or the Division of Family and Children Services,” according to The Chronicle.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that both women have since been released on bond. McCune was ordered not to have any contact with children younger than 18-years-old who are not her relatives. (Cover image credit: Melinda Sue Williams <left> & Shannon McCune / Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.)
Written by: Ace News Today Staff
