Woodbury daycare worker charged after 9-month baby suffers broken femur
Police lights generic. (FOX 9)
WOODBURY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 9-month-old baby was treated for a fractured femur in April while a caregiver gave conflicting stories about how she was injured.
That caregiver, Chantelle Michelle Cheri Vevang, 35, of Roberts, Wisc., is now facing criminal charges for the baby's injuries.
Criminal complaint
Court documents show that Woodbury police responded to the Stepping Stone Early Learning Center in Woodbury on April 14, 2024, to investigate a report of child maltreatment related to an incident that happened on April 11.
Officers say they spoke to Vevang, who told them she was working alone while caring for three other children and the victim in one of the infant rooms.
Vevang then told police that the baby woke up at about 3 p.m. and "was fussy because she needed a diaper change." The criminal compliant states Vevang took the baby to the changing table and noticed "she was ‘squirming a lot’ and had fecal matter ‘all the way up’ her back."
Vevang continued to say she may have put "a little too much pressure" when she pushed the baby's right leg back because she heard a crack or a pop sound when she did so. The baby then cried in pain and screamed louder.
The complaint states Vevang reported finishing the diaper change, setting the baby on the floor and telling another staffer that the baby fell. The complaint references a daycare report which stated the baby fell and that an ice pack was applied to the leg, which showed signs of "sensitivity."
The mother told police she got a call from daycare staff who reported the baby fell while trying to pull herself up to stand.
The baby's parents were on vacation at the time, so the baby's grandparents took her to their home.
The grandparents then noticed red marks near the baby's groin and saw that the leg was becoming swollen. The grandparents then took the baby to the hospital.
When the mother called the daycare again to tell them the baby would not be coming in that day, a staffer told her that they got new information on the baby's injury. The complaint states the mother was then told Vevang had changed her story.
Investigators would later learn that Vevang told the daycare director she had not been "fully truthful" and told the director she heard the popping sound during the diaper change.
The complaint states that medical staff reported the baby suffered a "totally displaced femur fracture" that could not have come from a routine diaper change or fall. There were also three different bruises in an area not associated with routine care or from a fall. An investigator from the Minnesota Department of Human Services also reported that the "unusual" injury would take "excessive force".
The baby had a "closed reduction" of her right femur as well as a cast applied to her right leg, which began at the chest and extended all the way down to the fractured leg.
What comes next?
Vevang's next court appearance is set for the afternoon of Oct. 14.
Similar incidents
An incident in Blaine led to the arrest of two daycare teachers who were charged with abusing infants in their care.
READ MORE: Parents horrified after Blaine daycare employees arrested for abuse
A Champlin daycare provider was also charged with assault after a 6-month-old baby was left in a coma. Court records show she was sentenced to 91 months, or about seven and a half years in prison.
Another provider in Shakopee was sentenced to 15 years after a baby in her care suffered a severe skull fracture.