Health First daycare manager, workers charged with failing to report suspected abuse of West Melbourne boy
Three Health First daycare workers — including a top manager — were arrested after West Melbourne police said they failed to alert state or local authorities about the suspected abuse of a child whose death was ruled a homicide
A Department of Children and Families worker was also fired in the case, records show.
Police said Jaymie Gaucher, 51, the daycare center’s director, and Kristal Samuel, 40, assistant manager, were charged Tuesday with failure to report suspected child abuse in connection with the subsequent death of Jameson Nance, 3, on June 11, 2021. Elizabeth Fowler, the lead teacher at the daycare, was arrested Wednesday and faces the same charge.
Jameson had a history of injuries, including some that garnered attention in the past from DCF, detectives reported.
State law requires that certain workers – including teachers, daycare workers, and physicians – are required to report any incidents involving neglect, possible abuse, or abandonment to state social workers or local law enforcement. One of the methods set up by the state include a 24-hour toll-free phone number used to report suspected abuse, 1-800-962-2873. The reports are then given to local police or case workers to investigate. In this case, the call never came for Jameson, police said.
Melbourne police also investigated the involvement of a Department of Children and Families child protection worker who was at the daycare.
No charges were filed against the DCF worker; however, she was released from her job, police records show.
The investigation into the death of Jameson began on June 11. Detectives began reviewing the injuries of the child, which showed evidence of bruising, hemorrhaging, blood clots and signs of healing throughout his body.
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The Brevard County medical examiner also found significant brain swelling and the hemorrhaging of Jameson’s optic nerve, records show.
Erica Dotson, Jameson's mother and a certified nursing assistant who used the daycare, was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter of a child, and aggravated child abuse in connection with Jameson’s death by West Melbourne police.
West Melbourne detectives charged the child's 25-year-old babysitter Joshua Manns, who is Dotson's boyfriend, with first-degree murder and neglect with great bodily harm after uncovering evidence of repeated abuse, records show.
Shortly after the autopsy, detectives met with an agent with the Department of Children and Families. Agents determined that the child attended Health First’s Center for Child Development in Melbourne.
The facility is used as a childcare service for Holmes Regional Medical Center workers. Police learned that staff members had previously seen multiple bruises on the boy’s face and head, along with an abrasion on an ear, records show.
Records also show the Department of Children and Families social workers were in contact with the family in 2019 after the child suffered a broken leg and again after March 25 when the other leg had a broken bone.
A DCF worker was at the center on an unrelated case, and saw photos of the bruises, reports show.
Gaucher told police she alerted the DCF worker to the injuries but was told there, “was not much DCF could do,” reports show. Police said Gaucher did not specify if the DCF worker told her to report the incident to DCF’s state hotline.
Staffers told police that the child was brought into the daycare wearing a face mask for COVID-19. The caregiver told workers that the boy’s injuries were the result of him being attacked and bitten by ducks at their apartment.
But police also determined that despite the evidence of injuries to the boy, there were no reports of child abuse made, records show.
Matthew Gerrell, CEO of retail services at Health First, said the company would continue to work with law enforcement to "get justice for Jameson."
"Our hearts continue to ache for Jameson’s family, and Health First has been actively cooperating with investigators on this unimaginable tragedy," he said. "We have terminated the employment of the associates involved in the Jameson Nance case."
The case was forwarded to the state attorney's office, which reviewed the evidence and interviews before making the decision to file charges.
Jameson's death was one of 14 reported child homicides to take place in Brevard since 2021, records show.
Breaking news reporter Finch Walker contributed to this report.
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: West Melbourne police: 3 Health First daycare employees didn't report suspected abuse
