Myrtle Beach daycare worker arrested, accused of shoving two 1-year-old children

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – A Myrtle Beach daycare worker has been arrested after she was accused of hurting two one-year-old children.

Katherine Coleman was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child.

According to arrest warrants, Myrtle Beach police opened a child abuse investigation on Monday at Ocean View TLC.

Video surveillance showed Coleman “aggressively grabbing the arm of the victim,” which was a one-year-old child, and “aggressively shoving the victim to the ground, face down into his mat,” according to the arrest warrants.

The documents state that the one-year-old lifted his head and Coleman once again shoved the victim’s head into the mat.

During a bond hearing, the mother of the second victim, who is also a one-year-old child, said that she saw surveillance video of her child being carried by the arm and was also shoved into his mat.

The warrant shows that Coleman was the teacher in the daycare room.

“The defendant’s actions placed the victim as (sic) unreasonable risk of harm to his physical health,” the warrant stated.

Coleman spoke through tears during her bond hearing and said that she loves children and would never hurt a child. She added that this is her first offense.

The parents of the children both spoke up during the bond hearing, stating they feel betrayed by the teacher that they entrusted with their children.

The judge set a $50,000 bond for Coleman. He added that he can’t deny bond based on the charges but he said if he could he would consider it.

He said that if Coleman posts bond then she is not to have contact with the victims, the victims’ families or the daycare.

It was also discussed during the bond hearing that Coleman’s husband is in charge of the security system at the church where the daycare operates. The judge said that the husband can’t alter or destroy any videos or evidence from the church.

Coleman posted bond Wednesday following her hearing, according to public index records.

Outside the courtroom, the victims families told WMBF that one child is going to the doctor for further evaluation and the other is doing okay. They collectively said it is too soon to say what, if any, effects the alleged abuse will have on them in the long run.

WMBF News went by the daycare to ask about Coleman and her employment and they provided us with this statement:

The TLC has a high standard when it comes to level of care for the children, families and staff that it serves. When that level of care drops below this standard, TLC immediately follows stated process and procedures to ensure that proper attention and action is given. This past week, one of our TLC instructors did not meet this standard of care that is expected from those in our leading childcare center. Immediate and appropriate action was taken to remove the teacher from our center. Proper authorities were also notified regarding this specific situation. We are working with and praying for the families that have been affected.

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