Child, 9, Accused in Toddler’s Death

Juvenile Justice

Posted Aug 30, 2007, 12:46 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A 9-year-old boy has been accused of beating a toddler in the head at a New Jersey day-care center and causing his death.

The child was charged with the juvenile equivalent of aggravated manslaughter in the death of 11-month-old Tahir Francis, who died last week, the New York Times reports. He was placed under his parents’ supervision.

The woman who ran the home day-care center, Beverly Bryant, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Bryant’s lawyer, Christian Fleming, said she answered a telephone call and the beating might have occurred then.

"She's a pillar of the community. She maintains her innocence," Fleming told the New York Post.

Serious charges against young children are rare. Only 13 children under the age of 10 were charged with murder or non-negligent manslaughter from 2000 to 2005, according to FBI figures.

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