Two women were sentenced to 10 days in jail Tuesday after Savannah-Chatham police and county authorities found a 14-year-old child in charge of 11 children, age 4 or younger, at an illegal, unlicensed day care center, police reported.
Kimberly Denise Emerson, 47, and Erica Hayward, were both sentenced for contempt of court, after they were found to be operating the day care center after being ordered not to, police said.
Police said the day care center had not obtained licenses from either the county or state since authorities first became aware of it last October.
In January, the women were cited or continuing to operate the center at 1190 King George Blvd., known as Georgetown Child Care Center, and ordered to stop in Recorders Court. Instead, police said it reopened as Georgetown Fitness Center for children.
County inspectors visited the center two weeks ago and caught the operators sneaking children out of the back door in the rain without shoes to hide them in a van, said police spokesman Julian Miller. On another occasion, he said they attempted to drive them away in an automobile without seat belts or child safety seats.
The following day, authorities arrived to find the screaming children hidden in a bathroom with no lights.
On Tuesday, Savannah-Chatham police arrived to find a family member of one of the women had left the facility in the hands of a 14 year old. The center was closed permanently.
Assistant Chatham County Attorney Jennifer Burns, who oversaw the county actions, advised parents not to leave their children in the care of these operators.