An Atlantic City day care owner has remained in business for more than a year while criminal charges are pending in the alleged assault of a preschool student who required stitches.
Robert Barnes, 58, has been charged with child endangerment and assault since Aug. 7, 2019, BreakingAC recently learned. No information was publicly released at that time.
Barnes was in court Friday on a motion to dismiss the indictment against him, arguing that the second-degree child endangerment charge should be downgraded.
That motion was denied. But the hearing before Superior Court Judge Patricia Wild gave some insight into the case.
The boy's mother went to Atlantic City police Aug. 1, 2019. saying she believed her then-4-year-old son had been assaulted at his daycare.
Barnes has admitted he gave the boy a light push from behind as he was being taken to the office to be disciplined July 31, 2019, according to information provided during the hearing.
He then noticed the boy — identified as A.S. in court — had an injury on his head that may have come from striking it on something. Barnes took A.S. to the hospital where he got seven stitches.
The judge said that Barnes driving the child to the hospital showed there was "more than just a babysitting relationship between the defendant and child in this case," which warranted the upgraded charge.
Barnes, who is not jailed, owns Adventures in Learning on Marmora Avenue in Atlantic City, which was first started by his mother. He appeared in court via video Friday.
Barnes answered the phone at the business Monday. Barnes said he had no comment on the case against him.
His attorney did not return calls seeking comment.
Barnes is also accused of tampering with evidence.
He tried to delete or override video coverage of the incident, according to the charge.
It is not the first alleged incident at the center.
In October 2018, the Department of Children and Families investigated allegations that a staff member “pulls the children’s arms, grabs them and slams them into the changing table (and) is yanking the children and yelling.”
That staff member was immediately fired, according to the investigation.
DCF lists all complaints against day care centers, but there is no listing for the August 2019 incident. A call to the DCF licensing unit was not immediately returned.
