Oak Creek day care employee charged, cocaine found in boy's system
OAK CREEK, Wis. - An Oak Creek day care employee was charged after cocaine was found in a 1-year-old boy's system earlier this month.
Prosecutors charged 24-year-old Passion Watson with "possession of cocaine on or near certain places." The boy attended the day care where Watson worked, and his mother told FOX6 they want additional charges filed.
"My life is forever changed," said Kimberly Hopson, the boy's mother. "How could you do that to an innocent baby?"
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It's a betrayal Hopson can't comprehend, who said dropping her son, Prince, off at KinderCare in Oak Creek was anything but a safe haven.
"Every day, he is coming here thinking he’s safe," Hopson said. "I can’t imagine how scared he was."
Kimberly Hopson with her son, Prince
Hopson said it started in early May when her son came home with a bruised nose, then a black eye, then scratches and marks on his body. Investigators learned a urine test showed the boy had cocaine in his system. Police then searched Hopson's home.
"Can you imagine (Child Protective Services) coming to your house threatening to take your kids over cocaine?" she said. "That’s ridiculous."
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After nothing was found in Hopson's home to indicate drug exposure, detectives searched KinderCare. Prosecutors said a K-9 found cocaine inside Watson's backpack, which was in an unlocked closet and unzipped with a toddler's jacket on top.
Hopson said her son hasn't been the same since.
Passion Watson
"He’s just reckless, he’s agitated – like he doesn’t play with his toys," she said.
The family's attorney said that and the physical injuries are why they're pushing for child neglect charges to be filed, too. It's still not clear how Prince ingested the cocaine.
Court records show Watson posted a $1,500 bond last week.