Pittmon v. The State

The evidence supported defendant's convictions for battery, cruelty to children in the first degree and cruelty to children in the second degree after she burned a child in her care at a daycare center and failed to seek medical attention for him.

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Doyle, Judge.Following a jury trial, Eddye Pittmon was convicted of battery,[1] cruelty to children in the first degree,[2] and cruelty to children in the second degree.[3] She now appeals from the denial of her motion for new trial, contending that (1) the trial court erroneously prevented her from presenting evidence of a third party’s guilt; (2) the trial court failed to sua sponte instruct the jury regarding evidence of prior difficulties; (3) she received ineffective assistance of counsel; and (4) the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Construed in favor of the verdict,[4] the evidence shows that in June 2014, Pittmon worked in the infant room of a daycare center. One morning, Meagan Seabolt dropped off her 18-month-old son Damon, and an early-morning staff person, Amanda Banks, took care of him before other staff arrived. While caring for Damon, Banks had occasion to change Damon’s diaper, and she noticed no injuries, and he seemed “perfectly fine.” When Pittmon arrived shortly after 8:00 a.m., Banks transferred Damon into Pittmon’s care. Shortly after 10:00 a.m., while Banks was outside speaking with other teachers and getting a head count for lunch, Pittmon brought Damon outside to show the other teachers that she had discovered dried feces on his back that had not been properly cleaned. Banks apologized that she had not noticed it when she changed him earlier, and another worker took a photograph of Damon’s body to document his condition because Pittmon was upset that his mother had brought him to the daycare dirty. At that time, neither Banks nor another employee noticed anything wrong with Damon other than his unclean condition.Banks returned to the kitchen, which was across the hall from the infant room, where Pittmon brought Damon to bathe him. Banks heard Damon crying while he was being cleaned, but she did not find it out of the ordinary.

Pittmon v. The State

The evidence supported defendant's convictions for battery, cruelty to children in the first degree and cruelty to children in the second degree after she burned a child in her care at a daycare center and failed to seek medical attention for him.

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