Day care operator charged after two-year-old crosses U.S. 21

A two-year-old child was found alone at a local restaurant after apparently wandering away from Step By Step Childcare Center in Sparta and crossing U.S. 21 on Nov. 13, according to Sparta Police Department Det. Lt. Wayne Crouse.

After an investigation into the incident began, the day care owner, 28-year-old Jenny G. Billings of Sparta, was charged with one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of resisting a public officer.

The abuse charge states that Billings did "create and allow a substantial risk of physical injury upon that child by other than accidental means by allowing the child to be unsupervised. As a result, the child left the facility (day care) and crossed (U.S. 21) in very inclimate weather."

The resisting an officer warrant states that Billings resisted Crouse and Lisa Osborne of the Alleghany County Department of Social Services "by directing and inducing an employee to give false and misleading information about an ongoing investigation."

Crouse declined to give further information about the nature of the false information. He also said he could not offer information on how the young child, whose name is being withheld by the newspaper because she is an alleged victim of abuse or neglect, managed to exit the day care building and premises and make her way to the restaurant across the highway.

Billings was arrested on Nov. 20 on the charges and released under a $500 unsecured bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 2. Crouse, who happened to be eating lunch at J.B.'s Pizza and Subs at the time, was alerted to the unattended child by other restaurant customers. "I was at J.B.'s restaurant having lunch and another customer told me that they saw a small child alone in the parking lot," Crouse said. "Based on that information, I checked to see if there were any adults with the child."

Crouse said he quickly realized the child was without supervision.

"There was a line of cars outside and I first thought maybe she had gotten out of one of them," he said.

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