Parents Demand Texas Daycare Take Responsibility to Protect Children

Wichita Falls, Texas — Baylee Smith was looking forward to spending quality time with her children when she lucked into unexpected time off during lunchtime. Her afternoon quickly turned into a nightmare when she witnessed a University Academy daycare worker slam her one-year-old child onto a nap mat. 

Smith removed her children and reported what she saw to both the daycare director and the police. The worker, Jazmine Leonna Jackson, was arrested on May 26 and charged with one count of injury to a child, a third-degree felony. 

“My tiny girl went from a smiling baby on her hands and knees on her little nap mat to pure terror. The worker snatched her up like a ragdoll and slammed her to the floor. She lifted her little face, full of tears and red. I will never forget that look on her face or the sound of her scream.” Smith said. 

Upon arrival, police made contact with Smith, who told officers what she observed.

As part of the investigation, officers viewed the video of the incident and saw for themselves Jackson’s abuse of Smith’s 20-pound baby. Jackson, who had been employed with the daycare for two years, was also observed kicking the victim in the head. 

According to a police affidavit, Jackson was seen numerous times “treating and mishandling children in an extremely violent way.”

“A million emotions flooded me at once, and I knew just one thing. I had to remove my babies first.” Smith said. “The way my baby buried her head in my shoulder, that will forever be in my mind. If she could have spoken, I swear she would have said, ‘Thank God my mommy is here.’”

While Mason and Baylee Smith view the criminal charges as a step in the right direction, they feel the daycare bears responsibility and should have been more careful in hiring and supervising employees. The Smiths are pursuing a civil action with help from attorneys Matt and Valeri Malone in hopes of preventing this type of abuse from happening to other children. 

“It’s extremely alarming that this worker was allowed to work here for so long and without more supervision,” attorney Valeri Malone said. “It breaks my heart to represent this young family in a case like this. They trusted this facility to care for their babies. The worker in question worked at the daycare for two years and according to the police, this was not an isolated incident. We urge other parents and former employees to come forward with any information they may have about similar incidents so that we can get the full scope of what was really going on at this facility. Call us at the Carlson Law Firm, 940-285-6333”

About The Carlson Law Firm

The Carlson Law Firm is a national personal injury law firm that opened its 18th location in Wichita Falls. We are committed to providing exceptional legal services. Our firm handles a variety of personal injury cases, including wrongful death, auto collisions, trucking crashes, human trafficking, sexual assault and rape, motorcycle injuries and workplace injuries, as well as medical malpractice, defective products, dangerous drugs, nursing home neglect, offshore injuries, wrongful death and much more.

Media Contact:
Kazia Conway
kconway@carlsonattorneys.com
254-526-5688