CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A former daycare employee, the daughter of Montgomery County Sheriff John Fuson, has been found guilty of abusing a toddler at a local daycare.
Sarah Jo Fuson, 25, of Woodlawn had been charged with one count each of aggravated child abuse and child abuse, according to previous reports. A jury found her guilty on both counts Thursday afternoon.
Because of the relationship between the defendant and the sheriff, the case was moved out of Montgomery County to the 23rd Judicial District and heard in Dickson by Judge David D. Wolfe.
Incidents at high chair, sleeping cot
In January 2023, the parents of a child in the care of Tylertown Learning Center discovered bruises on their 1-year-old daughter. The daycare conducted an investigation and fired Fuson. The Clarksville Police Department, the Department of Children Services, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation investigated the incident.
Surveillance video showed that on Jan. 9, Fuson forcefully grabbed the baby by the arms to reposition her in a high chair. Later, when the baby kept raising up while resisting taking a nap, Fuson eight times grabbed her and pushed her back down onto the sleeping cot. On the eighth and final time, the baby’s head landed near the edge of the cot, and afterward the baby didn’t move again until after the nap. Witnesses disagreed on whether her head hit the hard plastic at the edge of the cot.
Court records stated the baby suffered “serious bodily injury.” Witnesses in court this week disagreed on whether the baby had a skull fracture, and whether she suffered a concussion.
Prosecution and defense arguments
In closing arguments, prosecution attorney Mr. Holder presented the definition for aggravated child abuse, highlighting that it doesn’t have to include fracture or concussion, and that severe bruising is enough. He pointed out that the parents testified that an imprint of the baby’s waffle-pattern clothing remained on her skin for days after the incident.
DA Roger Moore told the jury that Fuson “knew what she was doing and she was getting paid for it. … She had a duty to that child, and the first duty was to do no harm.”
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Defense attorney Peter Strianse began his closing arguments by bringing up the telephone game, saying that it’s “alive and well” in the investigation of this case. He argued that misinformation about the diagnosis moved through the investigators, leading them to believe the child had a skull fracture, which Strianse argued she did not.
He questioned whether Fuson “knowingly and intentionally” hurt the baby. He suggested that what she did was instead “reckless” in a situation where she was an inexperienced worker overwhelmed by supervising a half-dozen toddlers at one time.
Sentencing still to come
Fuson was in tears following the jury’s verdict. Because the case carries a mandatory minimum sentence, she was immediately taken into custody.
Sentencing on the two counts of aggravated child abuse and child abuse was scheduled for Dec. 11. Aggravated child abuse of a child younger than 8 is a Class A felony and carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years. Child abuse of a child younger than 8 is a Class B felony and carries a sentence of 8 to 12 years.
The proceedings were videotaped and are available for review on the YouTube channel for Judge David Wolfe.
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