UPDATE: Pleasants County daycare worker pleads guilty to biting child

ST. MARYS, W.Va. (WTAP) – A daycare worker entrusted with caring for multiple children pleaded guilty to charges related to biting a child.

Mary A. Bookman pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child abuse resulting in injury and two counts of felony battery of a disabled child.

Bookman was employed at Pleasants County Christian Childcare LLC, a small business in St. Marys, W.Va., where the incident took place. According to the court documents, Bookman bit the face of a child leaving a mark for eight days. Bookman bit the child on Aug. 22, 2023. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras at the daycare facility. The daycare has surveillance cameras throughout the building.

Pleasants County Christian Childcare owner Kayla Haught said the situation has been awful, intense, and terrible. “I don’t condone what [Bookman] did,” said Haught. “All staff are medically cleared to work with children and must complete a background check before they are hired.”

Pleasants County Christian Childcare remains open, and Bookman was fired immediately after Haught was informed of Bookman’s conduct.

According to Haught, Bookman attended training on child abuse and child abuse reporting, which made her even more shocked to learn of the incident.

Another employee at the daycare originally informed Haught that Bookman had bitten a child. After reviewing the footage, herself, which she described as unthinkable, Haught notified the parents of the child involved. Haught then acted quickly and called the WV Child Abuse Hotline and law enforcement.

Bookman pleaded guilty to the four felony charges on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023.

She is currently being held at North Central Regional Jail on an $80,000 cash bond.

Bookman is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 11, 2023. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

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