BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A Northwest Bakersfield daycare provider entered a plea of no contest and was found guilty of the one charged count of felony child abuse, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Shannon Perkins was arrested by KCSO on Friday, December 28 and booked on one felony charge of willful cruelty to a child. According to the Department of Human Services, on December 27, Perkins let a child "drop from waist-high to a sitting position on the floor, causing him to cry upon the impact." Perkins then "threw him on a blanket on the living room couch as he continued to cry." The department says Perkins began arguing with another adult while wrapping the child in a blanket in a "aggressive" matter. Lastly, Perkins picked up the child and turned him over on her lap, "causing his head to thrash about," the department says.
The department says on the same day, Perkins began arguing with the same adult. During that argument, the Department of Human Services says Perkins "flopped" the child onto the couch and began changing him as he cried. She then "grabbed him by the throat and with both hands, violently shaking him and choking him as he continued crying and gasping for air." The department says Perkins "then struck him with an open hand on the back of his head three times."
According to the District Attorney's Office, the plea agreement includes 180 days in jail, 4 years supervised felony probation, and mandatory participation in a one-year child abuser's treatment counseling program.
The District Attorney's Office says Perkins will also not be allowed to operate any child care facility. The California Department of Human Services, Community Care Licensing Division suspended Perkins' daycare provider's license in January after an investigation. Perkins was also a former employee at Lil' Explorers.
According to the District Attorney's Office, the plea agreement was reached after consultation with the family of the 8-month-old victim.
