Second lawsuit filed against day care center; worker charged with cruelty to children

A second lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the mother of a child who attended Coliseum Child’s Play, alleging a day care worker injured her son.

Janice Braswell is seeking $2 million, according to the suit filed in Bibb County State Court on Wednesday afternoon. Nancy Haney, the mother of a 4-year-old boy who attended the center, also filed a lawsuit Monday. Both lawsuits list the day care worker, 30-year-old Karina Bonner, and Coliseum Child’s Play as defendants.

Braswell alleges Bonner struck her 3-year-old son in the face and pushed him into tables June 29 and used corporal punishment to injure him, according to her lawsuit.

Her lawyer, Reza Sedghi, said the incident was captured on video.

Sedghi said the boy, who had been attending the center for three years, had recently been reluctant to go to day care.

“Now we know why,” he said.

Sedghi said Braswell is emotionally distraught after what happened to her son.

“We’re concerned about other children and want to make a point that this doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Haney alleged Bonner grabbed her son’s arm, twisting it and shaking him as a means of corporal punishment.

Bonner was charged Monday with eight counts of cruelty to children. She was released from jail on a $22,200 bond Tuesday night, according to jail records.

The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation involves allegations regarding six children, Lt. Randy Gonzalez said.

An arrest warrant filed against Bonner alleges she’s also pulled on children’s ears.

All the children involved in the case are younger than 6, according to the warrant.

Staff at the day care declined comment Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning opened an investigation into the center, located adjacent to Coliseum Medical Centers at 325 Coliseum Drive, July 1 after receiving a complaint about discipline at the center. The day care is not affiliated with the hospital.

It’s unclear when the state investigation will be complete. If the complaint is substantiated, the day care center could face a fine or license revocation.

The lawsuits come about three months after misdemeanor charges were dismissed against Roger Jackson, executive director of the Motivating Youth after-school program in east Macon.

The state launched an investigation into Motivating Youth after receiving a complaint that Jackson, a former NFL player, struck an 8-year-old girl with a belt in 2015.

The girl and her mother filed a lawsuit in 2015, but agreed to settlements totaling $87,500 this year.

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Second lawsuit filed against day care center; worker charged with cruelty to children."