FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A plea deal has been accepted, Thursday, in the case of a 4-year-old who died in a hot SUV that was under the care of daycare employees in 2012.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, Paris Ward, Cecily Roberts and Camile Gordon were responsible for the safety of 4-year-old Jordan Coleman. Officials said they failed to get him out of the 3C’s Daycare van on Aug. 1, 2012.
Officials with the Medical Examiner’s Office said Coleman’s body temperature was 108 degrees. He was found unconscious in the back of that daycare van and did not survive that ordeal.
The vehicle, driven by Ward, had arrived to an apartment complex in Tamarac. Police said Ward drove Coleman and seven other children to the complex for naps after a field trip when the 4-year-old was left behind, inside the van.
BSO said Roberts, the 3C’s Daycare owner, sent the children to the apartment out of fear that childcare regulators would return to the daycare center after several problems with a prior inspection.
Coleman’s mother, Fantasia Goldson, said she still wants justice for her child after the sentencing, Thursday. “That’s not justice for a 4-year-old who passed away,” she said. “It’s not like you’re doing 10 or 15 years. You still will have time to live your life and have kids, see your graduation, see grandkids, see whatever. I’m not going to get none of that, and that’s why it hurts more than anything.”
The victim’s aunt, Martina Sturridge, expressed how much she misses her nephew. “You don’t know what it’s like to come home and not hear his voice anymore,” she said. “You don’t know what it’s like.”
“Jordan Coleman would never be able to stand before you and say any of these things,” Goldson said. “It was a lot that was taken from us. More than a nephew, a son – whatever the case may be. You may not know me after today. You may forget my name. But I’m asking you to, please, be just. I understand that things happen, but c’mon, it’s a 4-year-old child.”
Ward has been sentenced to 15 years probation, while Roberts pleaded no contest and sentenced to five years in prison.
Gordon, also pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 15 years probation.
None of the three women involved will be able to work with children in the future.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.