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Couple says daughter was injured by Raleigh day care worker

Just days after a Raleigh day care worker was arrested for child abuse, a second family claims their toddler was injured by the same worker last fall.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — Just days after a Raleigh day care worker was arrested for child abuse, a second family claims their toddler was injured by the same worker last fall.

Dashuna Mecole Wiggins, 25, of 6701 Six Forks Road in Raleigh, was arrested Friday. She is charged with intentional child abuse inflicting serious physical injury.

Wiggins is accused of breaking a 1-year-old child's arm on Nov. 4 at the KinderCare facility at 2300 Bridgeport Drive.

On Tuesday, Lynne and Jason Barbour said they quickly pulled their child out of the facility when they heard about the arrest.

"At first, I was very shocked," said Lynne Barbour. "My husband was very angry."

According to Barbour, their daughter Georgia was injured by Wiggins in September.

An incident report on Georgia’s injury said that another child got "too excited" and scratched her on the back. But the Barbours say they don't believe a toddler is capable of causing the type of scratches their daughter suffered.

"Dashuna was the one who wrote the incident report, and she was the only witness," Lynne Barbour said. "A little kid's fingers are not that long, nor can they apply the type of pressure in a consistent manner the way the scratches were.”

The couple said they made the KinderCare facility aware of their suspicions, but a spokesperson for KinderCare disputed that claim.

"They said they would further investigate and follow up ... they never followed up and (Wiggins) continued to work there," Barbour said.

The Barbours kept their daughter enrolled at the day care until they received the news about Wiggins' arrest. The couple is now looking for a new day care.

According to a KinderCare spokesperson, Georgia was playing with another toddler while wearing a sleeveless sundress that exposed her shoulders when she was injured.

"Soon thereafter, when visiting the classroom, the Center Director noticed that she had obvious scratches on her back. It was mentioned to the Center Director that the other child, had been seen hugging the Barbours’ daughter. The Center Director examined the other child’s nails and noticed that they were ragged and sharp," a spokesperson said in a statement to WRAL News. "Prior to learning of (the) arrest this weekend, the Barbour family did not raise any allegation about Ms. Wiggins."

Wiggins is suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

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