Two day care owners face charges in child's death

Women extradited from New York

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two day care owners charged in the death of a 4-year-old boy appeared in bond court Monday after being found and arrested in New York.

Cecily Roberts, 43, and Camille Gordon, 20, were booked at the Broward County Jail on Sunday. They were located in Brooklyn, New York, and were operating another day care facility there at the time of their arrest two weeks ago.

"She was the one who knew what was going on, and the court believes was responsible for everyone else's actions," said Judge John Hurley during Roberts' bond appearance. "Ma'am, you're not allowed to, at any time, oversee, in any manner, any children that are not your own.

Four-year-old Jordan Coleman was found dead in the back seat of a SUV on August 1. The van was parked in Tamarac. 3C's Daycare, where Coleman was enrolled, was located in Sunrise.

"There was fear by the ownership that they had too many kids under their care and the solution to that was to put them all in a van and take them across town to someone's apartment," said Stuart Grossman, who represents the Coleman family.

3C's has since been shut down.

Hurley appeared upset when he learned Roberts was running another day care in New York.

"The court is also concerned that she skirts the rules and she's back in the day care business. That gives the court concern that she hasn't learned from this," said Hurley.

Roberts and Gordon have both been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Roberts was also charged with child care misrepresentation, a felony that carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years. This is the first time this charge has been used in Broward County, and likely the country, according to the Broward State Attorneys Office. It was adopted to protect parents and the state from day care operators who misrepresent the level of care they provide.

Roberts was being held on $250,000 bond; meantime, Gordon was being held $50,000.