LEBANON, Ind. — Every morning, Shelby Edens drops off her 1-year-old son, Creed, at Just Be Kids Learning Center in Lebanon.
“It was a normal morning. He was perfectly fine when I dropped him off, and everything went well with drop-off, and then, dad picked him up after,” Edens said.
When dad picked him up on Jan. 16, something was different.
“He always runs and jumps at me and says, 'Dad!' and is always excited to see us when we pick him up. He was just out of it, very lethargic,” said Joe Rauseo, Creed’s father.
Rauseo put Creed in the car and said Creed began going in and out of consciousness. Rauseo rushed his son to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.
“He was getting catheters. He was getting blood draws, and he wasn’t even moving for any of that stuff. It was just a really scary situation for us,” Rauseo said.
Rauseo said Creed was unresponsive for the next 12 hours. Doctors ran toxicology reports, and hospital tests discovered THC in his system.
Rauseo alerted Lebanon Police and Child Protective Services.
Police say on Jan. 17, detectives interviewed staff at Just Be Kids Learning Center and found two teachers had attempted to consume an edible containing THC while in the classroom.
According to court documents, detectives spoke with 21-year-old Paige Wilson and 21-year-old Stella Latham, both from Lebanon.
Wilson told detectives that Latham brought a blue, square THC gummy into her classroom during the kids' nap time and split it for them.
Wilson said she then put her half of the gummy on the "quiet box" in the classroom and forgot that she left it there.
Detectives reviewed video footage from the day care, which showed Creed grab the gummy from the "quiet box," put it in his mouth, drop the gummy on the floor, put it back in his mouth, take the gummy out of his mouth, put it near his shirt where a stain was said to be, and drop the gummy on the floor before walking away.
The video footage then allegedly showed Wilson find the gummy on the floor and show it to Latham. Video then showed Wilson check Creed's mouth and then point to his shirt, which had a blue stain on it from the gummy.
According to court documents, Latham told detectives she cleaned Creed's shirt with a household cleaning supply and dish soap.
Detectives said video footage then shows Wilson and Latham high-fiving after Creed's shirt appears to be clean from the blue stain — and then Wilson eats the rest of the gummy.
“That’s something that should never be around children or be in reach of where children are able to get to it,” Edens said.
Police arrested Wilson and Latham, and the Boone County Prosecutor's Office charged them both with neglect of a dependent.
The Boone County Jail told 13News that Wilson and Latham have been released from custody after posting bail Thursday.
Their initial court hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 13.
“It’s sad just knowing that while we’re working, we’re trusting these people with our kids and then to find out that this happened. We were just in shock about the whole thing,” Edens said.
Edens said she collected both of her children’s belongings from the day care and unenrolled them.
13News reached out to the day care and was told attorneys advised them not to talk about the case but said there are two sides to every story.
Creed’s parents say they are thankful he’s OK and want to encourage other parents to take notice.
“Anybody that has their child in day care, just be aware of your surroundings and be sure to thoroughly do your research on where your child is going,” Rauseo said.
“Our main priority is getting the word out there and letting people know what happened and making other parents aware and just making sure our son is OK afterwards,” Edens said.
If the two teachers are found guilty, they could spend six months to 2 1/2 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000.