Mom claims son abused at Myrtle Beach child care. Employee allegedly slammed boy to ground
A Myrtle Beach child care facility has been accused in a lawsuit of failing to prevent abuse of a 4-year-old boy by one of its workers.
Sydney Moffitt, the child’s mother, filed the suit against the Child Development Ministry of First United Methodist Church on behalf of her son, identified as C.C. in the suit.
The daycare is operated by First United Methodist Church, located at 901 N. Kings Highway.
A message left at the daycare was not immediately returned Friday.
According to the suit filed Aug. 6, 2024, a childcare worker, Marsha Minges, was seen on video lifting the child up by his arms three times and then slamming his body to the ground.
Minges, 56, was charged on June 5, 2024, by Horry County Police with unlawful conduct toward a child.
Minges’ attorney, Timothy Truslow, declined to comment when contacted Friday.
A witness told police that the boy approached her and said that his arm hurt. When she asked why, the boy told her that Minges had picked him up by his arm and threw him on the ground, according to a police report.
The suspect, identified as Minges, was a teacher at the child care, the report said. It is unclear if Minges is still employed at the child care.
The child’s parents were notified on May 31, 2024, that Minges had been physically abusive to the boy the day before. The abuse was seen by a physical therapist who was at the school treating another child and then called Department of Social Services and law enforcement to report the abuse, according to the suit.
The child’s mother was later viewed the video and saw the abuse, the suit said.
The suit claims that the child care could have prevented the physical and mental injury that the boy suffered by Minges, but failed to do so. The child care “owed a duty to C.C. and the other minor children in its care to conduct a thorough and proper background check of Marsha Minges prior to hiring her as an employee,” as well as supervision, the suit said. The suit also said there have been previous complaints about Minges and her care of the children in her classroom.
The suit accuses the child care ministry of negligence in failing to ask for assistance for Minges so she could provide care for the children in an “appropriate and safe manner” and failing to properly train and supervise Minges.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 12:58 PM.
