Louisville daycare owner fined for leaving child in car unattended

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- A Louisville daycare owner has her day in court after being accused of leaving a 2-year-old in a vehicle unattended for nearly an hour.

During a hearing on Tuesday, House of Fame director Tandreka Henton was charged with contributing to the neglect of a child.

She was fined just over $1,200.

Emotions were running high in the courtroom as both Henton and the mother of the 2-year-old took the stand.

This all stems from an incident that happened last month when the daycare took a group of students to the movies to see The Lion King.

All of the kids made it inside the theater except for the 2-year-old.

The child was responsive by time the daycare workers went to retrieve her from the vehicle.

The child’s mother said she doesn’t believe the daycare owner intentionally left her daughter in the vehicle.

However, she believes it’s still a mistake that shouldn’t have been made.

In court, Henton admitted she made a honest mistake by not doing a proper head count once they made it inside.

The Mississippi Department of Health has also launched an investigation into the matter.

MDH fined the daycare and restricted their license.

As a result, the daycare cannot take kids off it’s premises until April of 2020.

The child has fully recovered and is doing fine since the incident occurred.

Henton declined to give a comment after Tuesday’s hearing.

The mother of the two-year-old tells WCBI she plans to file a lawsuit against the daycare owner.