Former daycare worker in court on child neglect charges

Three former daycare workers were set to appear in court on charges of child neglect, but only one, Shannon Johnson, showed up.  "I was not the driver responsible., I was not the aid who check the bus, I signed a document. That was my part in it," said Johnson, who plead no contest. 

Johnson and two others are facing second degree misdemeanors, after a 5-year-old child was left unattended on a bus for several hours last October.

"During the inspection, we did find that the driver did leave the child unattended for several hours... the two employees then came in and they took the child. They were apart of this transportation sweep coverage that they were not in compliance with," said Department of Children and Families (DCF) spokesperson David Ocasio.

DCF fined the pre-school a $1,000, and since then, the school has closed, opening a new location on West Colonial Drive.

The two other people facing charges, Victor DeLaPaz and Jessenia Marcano, were no shows in court. Judge Faye Allen asked the state to find correct addresses for the two, to be summoned. Meantime, Johnson said she played no direct role in the child being left on the bus. "The child was not there, I approached the driver saying I did not see that child." 

Investigators say the child was left unattended from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Once removed from the bus, the child was given some food and water, and DCF tells us that child is currently doing fine. Johnson asked for a public defender and said she no longer works in child care.