LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — A Lexington County daycare worker has been charged with a total of 49 counts of unlawful conduct towards a child involving 30 victims - the youngest being 10-months-old and the oldest 5-years-old.
On Friday, Breanna Audette, 23, of Irmo was arrested and charged with 35 additional charges of unlawful conduct towards a child.
Audette was charged in July with 14 counts of unlawful conduct towards a child after she allegedly assaulted children at a daycare and after-school facility in Lexington.
Police said Audette, an employee at Harvest Daycare & Afterschool on Whiteford Way, was captured on security footage. On the morning of July 12, an investigation began when the facility administrator of the Harvest Daycare reported to the Lexington Police Department and the South Carolina Department of Social Services that an employee of the daycare was alleged to have assaulted children who were in her care
According to officers, she was seen on video aggressively grabbing several children by the arm, neck and face and, in one incident, pushing a child to the ground.
Administrators with Harvest Daycare have cooperated with the Lexington Police Department and South Carolina Department of Social Services in this ongoing investigation.
Audette was taken to the Lexington County Detention Center and, during her bond hearing, she was given a bond of $70,000 for these charges along with the restrictions of having no contact with any of the victims or their families and no unsupervised contact with children. She must also follow the South Carolina Department of Social Services plan for her own children and not to be within 100 yards of anywhere that children gather.
The second arrest of Breanna Audette concludes this investigation as all available security video has been viewed by detectives of the criminal investigations division.
These cases will be prosecuted by the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
