A mother is hoping to get justice for her daughter after a daycare worker purposely burned her infant. Harper was just six months old when the former employee, Victoria Saulter, dipped her hand in boiling hot water.
Surveillance footage captured the entire Sept. 23 incident. Harper’s mother, Khalecia Vinning, tells TSR Investigates’ Justin Carter her daughter is still recovering from second-degree burns.
According to Carter’s review of the footage, Saulter burned the child during what was supposed to be nap time. A black-and-white video shows Victoria standing near a countertop with the baby in her arms.
The 27-year-old removes a baby bottle out of a bottle warmer, puts it on the counter then proceeds to dip Harper’s hand inside the filled warmer. Victoria then pulls the baby’s hand out, looks around, and then dips the infant’s hand into the water a second time. After the baby starts screaming, her mother says the daycare worker responded, “Good job.”
“Why would you do that? Not only why would you do that, why would you say good job? What about that warrants a good job,” Khalecia Vinning told Carter.
Local police arrested Victoria Saulter 12 days after for second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. In the criminal arrest warrant, investigators said the bottle warmer found at the facility can reach up to 194.5 degrees Fahrenheit within 5-6 minutes of operating. Victoria is currently in jail after being denied a reduced bond.
Mother Alleges Daycare Tried To Mislead Her About Harper’s Burned Hand
In the ‘TSRI’ episode, Vinning also alleged that McMillian’s First Steps Academy attempted to mislead her about what happened to Harper. About 35 minutes after Victoria’s actions, the daycare reached out via an app asking if Harper had a teething toy at the facility. Unfortunately, the mother didn’t note the message due to being at work.
“That lets me know that Harper sat there in torment,” Khalecia Vinning said.
Nearly three hours after the incident, the childcare center reached out again. Vinning says they asked her to pick up Harper because “she burned herself.”
“They said she grabbed the bottle warmer and steam got back to her,” the mom said.
The Louisiana Department of Education filed a report about the incident involving Harper. It highlights multiple violations by the daycare worker and excessive lack of communication by the facility’s leadership.
Unfortunately, Harper’s burn isn’t the first concerning incident at the New Orleans childcare facility. Watch what else the full ‘TSRI’ interview uncovered below.
TSR Investigates explores cold cases and special interest news stories underrepresented in mainstream media.
