A woman accused of using a dietary supplement to drug the children in her care has been found guilty of child endangering.
During the trial Wednesday, parents who took their babies to the Covenant Church Day Care in Springfield Township last year took the stand to say they noticed something wasn’t right.
“On the days that he was in day care, he was exhausted. We would pick him up and put him in the car and he would instantly fall asleep,” Dr. Devin Graham said.
“At the time he was trying to sit up, things like that and he would appear to get dizzy every once in awhile and kind of topple over,” Derek Tanner said.
But until December 2009, they had no idea that the lead infant teacher at the school, Donna Scott, had been putting melatonin into their babies’ food in order to get them to sleep.
Scott is the second Covenant Church Day Care employee to be convicted of drugging children.
And the drug of choice?
The charges against Scott came to light after a co-worker turned her in.
“She saw Donna Scott take a melatonin pill and crush it up using a puzzle piece then wipe the powder with her hand into a baby bottle,” Casey said.
Good for the co-worker turning her in, but considering there are now 2 convictions, it makes the crime look a little more widespread. A civil lawsuit is also pending against the church.