An Egg Harbor Township woman accused of assaulting two toddlers while she worked at a Galloway Township daycare pleaded guilty to a lesser crime Thursday.
Price pleaded guilty to one fourth-degree count of cruelty and neglect of a child for the April 19, 2022, incident that sparked a criminal investigation.
The then-2-year-old Hammonton boy is autistic and nonverbal, so it still is difficult to know exactly what happened to him that day, his mother told BreakingAC after the plea.
Jehan Attiyah just knows that the call she received from the daycare that her son woke up from his nap with a bruise did not mesh with the pictures she was sent of her injured son.
She took him to the hospital after seeing what she believed to be an adult handprint on his face. He also had a bruise on his ear.
His twin brother would later tell her the teacher did it.
Price actually was working as a teacher's aide at the time of the incident.
"You found yourself frustrated and overwhelmed personally, correct?" attorney James Leonard Jr. asked Price during her admission in court.
"Yes," she replied.
"You did engage (the victim) in physical contact by grabbing (him) in a cruel and aggressive manner, correct?" he then asked.
"Yes."
Attiyah did not even know the plea would be taking place.
She was on a plane Wednesday, ready to head to her grandmother's funeral when she found out the virtual court date for the case was now an in-person plea.
"I had them stop the plane in the middle of the runway," Attiyah said.
She was not happy with the deal, which will not include jail time.
Price faces probation when she is sentenced Oct. 3. She also agreed to a ban from public employment and any future work in daycare.
"She has an end date," Attiyah said of Price's involvement in the case. "On Oct. 3, she will know when it ends for her. My son will keep living with this. It doesn't end for him."
Price worked for the academy for seven years, receiving more than 300 hours of documented trainings, according to a message the owners sent to parents at the time.
“This is a reminder and call to action that working with kids is not easy and staff selections and training is of utmost importance,” the statement read. “That being said, we have to remember that the last few years have been hard with mental health and stress management, and as a school we must remain vigilant and be watch keepers of the children and never relax.”
The case also sparked an investigation into an incident involving a different child that February.
An investigator from the Division of Child Protection and Permanency had reached out to the detective in the case and alerted him to a 2-year-old girl who allegedly had a similar incident at the daycare in February, according to the affidavit previously reported by BreakingAC.
“We do not harbor anyone who could potentially harm a child in our facility,” Liz Palmer wrote in an email after the story on Price’s arrests ran Monday. “Your story insinuated that we did since February and that is inaccurate.”
The Palmers were later provided copies of the affidavits in the case, including the one mentioning the February incident.
In the message sent to staff and parents updating them on the investigation, the Palmers said they had spoken with the same DCPP investigator named as the one who brought the February incident to the detective’s attention.
The Palmers also insisted they fully cooperated in the investigation, including providing any requested records.
