Charlotte daycare shut down, owner charged after police say she left kids alone in park
The owner of a Plaza Midwood daycare who allegedly left children unsupervised in a park, and drove in a car without proper seating for the kids, was arrested and charged last week with six counts of misdemeanor child abuse.
Leslye Denise Torrence, 43, listed as the owner of Midwood Learning Academy on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website, was issued a $60,000 bond, according to the Mecklenburg County inmate search, and released on March 9.
The NCDHHS Division of Child Development and Early Education suspended the license for the daycare, said Kelly Haight Connor, a department spokesperson.
An arrest warrant was issued on Friday, according to court documents obtained by the Observer.
Person observes unattended young children
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department incident report said that on Feb. 21, just after noon, a person observed several children unattended near the 2100 block of North Davidson Street. The children were ages 3 to 4.
The report also said the person observed that the children were in the care of daycare workers who did not have proper seats, and drove away “recklessly with the children unsecured in the vehicle.”
The report also says that when Torrence drove off, one of the back doors to here car was still open as she was driving the vehicle.
According to Observer news partner WSOC TV, a woman told the mother of one of the children that she saw two people sitting in a car nearby as kids played at Cordelia Park unsupervised, and that she claimed she could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle.
The report said surveillance video showed the woman confronting the two adults in the car, who began gathering the kids into the car before driving away.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
