The parents of a young child who was abused at day care are admittedly upset after the day care owner who hurt their child received no jail time.
As KWTX reports, 81-year-old Glenda Hammons, the owner of the day care, admitted to hurting the child and accepted a plea deal. The deal was “five years deferred adjudication in exchange for pleading guilty to one count of injury to a child.”
According to Texas Defense Laws, deferred adjudication is a type of probation and it’s usually offered to first time offenders:
It is typically a better deal than regular community supervision because if a person finishes the term successfully, the person does not have a conviction.
The abuse was caught on camera by another child Hammons was watching at the time, according to CBS DFW. In the video, Hammons was seen dragging the victim across the floor and throwing him.
As the affidavit states, Hammons could also be heard saying:
“After she shakes the boy she slaps the back and side of his head roughly six times while saying ‘put ’em on the floor dadgummit mind me! You’re being hateful today!’”
As KWTX reports, the child was 21-months-old at the time. The child’s parents said they were “devastated” by the plea deal.
The child’s father told reporters:
“We get that she’s got the community supervision, we get that it’s five years, but the fact that it can be completely erased, in our minds, puts future kids at harm. […]
It’s amazing how you’re out of the loop when you’re the victims parents. I felt like at some point someone was going to listen to what this did to my son and our family—we’ve never been consulted on any of it at all, no one’s asked, ever, and it’s shocking.”
While the child’s mother added:
“Somebody has got to change the fact that you can hurt a baby and get a slap on the hand for that.”
The mother believes the justice system failed their son.
She said they were told that if Hammons’ sentence holds up, she won’t have to tell anyone that she was once convicted of a felony:
“…It won’t be like anyone will ever know she hurt our baby.”
Tom Needham, a spokesman for District Attorney Barry Johnson, said they are confident in the conclusion of the trial based on the facts of the case.
And while the father said he knew going into the trail that Hammons’ age would be a factor, he thought the video evidence would lead to a what he believed was a proper punishment:
“We knew she was an old lady, we knew, ya know, the way people looked at her was going to be different than it was, but we thought with the video evidence, with the fact that it was pretty much an open and shut case, that it (the punishment) would be more severe.”
In August, a judge will make the final decision on if the sentence handed down to Hammons is acceptable.