Crime and Courts

Montana daycare employee accused of breaking 2-year-old's leg pleads not guilty

Posted: Feb 7, 2013 3:35 PM by Simone DeAlba - MTN News
Updated: Feb 7, 2013 3:44 PM

GREAT FALLS - A daycare employee accused of seriously injuring a 2-year-old boy pleaded appeared in court on Thursday.

Jordan Stone appeared in court for an arraignment hearing and pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault.

Court documents state that that Stone, 27, was one of two adult workers at Chickadees Childcare on 4th Avenue North in Great Falls. Police officers were called to the daycare facility on Monday, Jan. 7 for a report of a 2-year-old with a broken leg.

The initial report indicated that the child had been run over by another child who was riding a plastic tricycle.

Stone was the person supervising the child at the time. The other worker was in another area and did not witness the incident.

The child was taken to Benefis Hospital where doctors discovered that his leg was broken. The child's tibia and fibula were fractured.

An emergency physician indicated that the injury did not appear to be accidental trauma, and did not match the description given of the incident by Stone.

The court documents state that Stone repeated his initial claim, but then said that he caused the injury when he lifted the child up from a table and chair, and that the child's leg got caught in the chair.

Stone then changed his story again, claiming that he fell while carrying the child and that's when the leg broke.

Stone then admitted that he got angry at the child and pushed him down, causing the injury. He said that it happened at around 10 a.m. 911 was called at around 10:30 a.m.

The next court date for Stone has been set for Monday, June 3.

Stone has one misdemeanor conviction for theft.