Woman accused of assaulting child at daycare center

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A woman is facing charges after being accused of assaulting several toddlers while at a daycare facility in Berkeley County.

Jasmine Cook, the mother of one three-year-old boy, said her heart has been broken after learning what happened to her son while at St. James AME Church Childcare Center off Jedburg Road last week.

According to an incident report from the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the child’s father, Raekwon Mazyck, contacted law enforcement after video showed what appeared to be a staff member assaulting the children.

A family member who worked at the daycare center reviewed footage after the child started complaining about his hair hurting, according to the report. The video showed the boy and three other children possibly being assaulted by one of the workers.

That video shows a group of four children sitting around a table when a woman – later identified as Delores Harris – walks over and appears to use her hand to strike one child on the left side of their face, then use her right hand to hit another child on the right side of their head. Both children jolt after the hits.

The report says the woman then walked around the table to Cook and Mazyck’s child, grabbed him by the hair on the back of his head, and pulled his head back and down.

Cook said the situation is disheartening to talk about, but she hopes that by sharing her child’s experience, the teacher is held accountable for her actions.

“These people are supposed to care about your child. Take care of them. I’m supposed to be at work right now, not stressing about you. I know if my child is being treated right, but now I’m over here. It’s affecting my mood at work all day. I’m over here stressed out, like I’m angry,” she said.

Harris was arrested on May 10 on three counts of unlawful conduct towards a child.

Officials said the daycare facility is under investigation by the Department of Social Services and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.