After a lengthy jury selection process Monday, the jury heard opening statements for the trial against the former pastor and former daycare director at First United Methodist Church.
Paige Williams and Abby Leach are both charged with eight counts of complicity to criminal child abuse in connection with incidents that occurred at the church daycare. Special prosecutor Blake Chambers began proceedings with saying that the defense will try to say that Williams and Leach didn’t have actual custody of the children, but he says its plain that each parent trusted them to protect their children when they dropped them off at daycare.
Defense attorney Bill Deatherage represents Williams and says as a pastor in the church, she wasn’t directly involved in the daycare and didn’t have custody of the children.
Attorney David Bundrick is representing Leach and he told the jury that the Commonwealth will say a witness reported abuse to the Department of Community Based Services—but there is no record of that call ever occurring.
The indictments against Williams and Leach allege they “breached their legal duty to protect the minor children by failing to prevent intentional permitting abuse” of those children. In each count, the victim is described as being under the age of 13 months old.
Their co-defendant, former daycare worker Allison Simpson, was found guilty on 12 counts of first-degree criminal child abuse, three counts of second-degree child abuse and 12 counts of third-degree criminal child abuse, while former daycare employee Nina Morgan was found guilty of one county of third-degree criminal child abuse.
Trial is set to continue Tuesday morning.