Surveillance footage from 2022 of Christelle Bobich throwing a toddler to the floor at Sunshine House in Loganville, Ga. (via WSB).
A Georgia day care center may be put on trial after one of its employees was caught on camera throwing one of the toddlers they were responsible for watching.
Lawyers for the Sunshine House day care center in Loganville were in a Gwinnett County courtroom on Tuesday facing claims by a lawyer representing the family of the toddler in question. In January 2022, Mallory Stevens and Matt Stevens dropped off their then-15-month-old son at Sunshine House, where one employee, Christelle Bobich, was tasked with watching him and several other toddlers.
In surveillance camera footage that was shown in court, Bobich was seen picking the boy up and slamming him to the floor.
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Local ABC affiliate WSB reported that Bobich pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the incident and is no longer employed at Sunshine House. Now the Stevens family has filed a lawsuit against Sunshine House, claiming that the company is liable for what happened.
James Hankins, the attorney representing Sunshine House, told the judge that the facility followed all the rules when it came to vetting Bobich before hiring her, WSB reported. Hankins said, “She had been approved by the state of Georgia [Department of Early Care and Learning] to be in her position, and including the requiring of passing the required criminal background check.”
When it came to the incident caught on camera, Hankins placed the blame squarely on Bobich, saying, “Her testimony was she has lost it, and I think the objective video evidence bears that out.”
However, the attorney representing the Stevenses, Peter Ross, said that Bobich’s lack of experience should have been a red flag. Ross told the court, “Ms. Bobich only had four months at another place. She says she wasn’t even applying for lead teacher.”
Ross further stated, “We’ve shown negligence and punitive damage, especially on these egregious facts [that] are in play.”
Tuesday’s hearing was held to decide whether the lawsuit should move forward to a trial. WSB reported that a decision has not been made yet.
