South Carolina day care worker accused of slamming child's head into crib at Christian school

FLORENCE, S.C. (TCN) -- Four people, including a pastor and school employees, face charges after a child was reportedly assaulted at a Christian school earlier this year.

According to the Florence County Sheriff's Office, on Jan. 23, 73-year-old Laurin Boyce, a day care worker at the Maranantha Christian School, allegedly "intentionally and repeatedly assaulted a child." Investigators allege she slammed the victim's head into a crib and covered the child's head with a blanket. Boyce is also accused of "pressing down on the child's head for a length of time" and "dragging the child out of the room."

The sheriff's office alleges that several days later, Boyce knocked the victim over at the playground and then picked the victim up and "carried the child by the arm and leg before intentionally dropping the child from waist height on to the child’s head."

Two nursery workers, 33-year-old Jessica Elmore and 42-year-old Dawn Kirven, reportedly knew about the abuse but failed to report it to law enforcement. Fifty-four-year-old Lee Patrick, who WPDE-TV reports is the pastor at the school, also allegedly failed to report the abuse even though he was required to do so by law. The crime is punishable by a fine and imprisonment for up to six months.

Boyce, Elmore, Kirven, and Patrick were all booked into the Florence County Detention Center. Boyce faces two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, assault and battery high and aggravated, and assault and battery. Elmore faces two counts of failing to report child abuse/neglect, while Kirven faces one county of failing to report child abuse/neglect. Patrick has also been charged with failing to report child abuse/neglect, as well as criminal conspiracy.

According to WPDE, the victim's parents urged the judge to deny Boyce bond due to her alleged "explicit acts on with our child."

They added, "We are lucky to be standing here that we have a child to go home and hug tonight."

The attorneys for the school told the news station in a statement, "We are stunned by the arrest of these fine people in our community, Pastor Lee Patrick, Dr. Dawn Kirven and Jessica Elmore. We firmly believe in their innocence and look forward to a jury trial in their case."

Following the allegations, Boyce reportedly resigned from the school.

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