STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — After a group of parents rushed their 1-year-olds to the hospital on March 2 while observing a list of concerning symptoms, Stafford Police charged a daycare owner with three counts of cruelty and injury to children.
Stafford Police said that the parents noticed their toddlers had uncoordinated and lethargic behavior, along with bloodshot, glassy eyes. Hospital staff quickly recognized the symptoms: each child had been exposed to THC, resulting in a high. Testing confirmed their suspicions, according to police.
All of the parents and the three toddlers involved were connected through a licensed home daycare provider in the Windsor Forest subdivision in Stafford.
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According to police, when one detective searched the facility, he found goldfish crackers scattered on the floor of the daycare, beneath a group of high chairs. After collecting them and sending them out for testing, the children's snack came back positive for THC.
Child protective services were then notified and became involved. The owner, 60-year-old Rebecca Swanner, was arrested and charged, police confirmed, and the daycare center voluntarily surrendered its license.
Swanner is currently out on a $2,000 unsecured bond after self-surrendering on April 14.
