In an exclusive interview with Fox 8, the mother of a six-month-old infant who suffered a deliberate burn injury to her hand at a New Orleans daycare has come forward, shedding light on the traumatic experience her young child endured. Khalecia Vinning, the mother, is now demanding accountability from the arrested daycare worker and the daycare facility itself.
“You see this type of stuff on movies, you see this type of stuff on TV, never really think it could hit home,” Vinning expressed.
Vinning recounted the day she dropped off her six-month-old daughter, Harper, at McMillan’s First Steps daycare in Central City on the morning of Friday, September 22.
Later that same afternoon, she received a call from McMillan’s informing her that her daughter had sustained burns. She immediately rushed to the school and took her daughter to the hospital.
“They scrubbed all the blisters off her hand, and she was screaming, and I had to hold her down,” Vinning tearfully recalled. “I had to hold her down because she don’t know what’s going on, you know? She was 6 months old, she was crying and I don’t know what to do.”
Victoria Saulter, a 27-year-old daycare worker, was later arrested by the New Orleans Police Department for allegedly placing the baby’s hand on a scalding bottle warmer twice and callously saying, “Good job!” as the baby cried out in agony, according to an arrest warrant.
The appliance heated water to a temperature as high as 194.5 degrees Fahrenheit, as noted by a detective.
Saulter is currently held in the Orleans Parish Prison on a $50,000 bond and has not yet been arraigned.
“I couldn’t believe that she would do Harper that. Even after seeing it, in my heart, I still couldn’t believe that she did Harper that, I can’t,” Vinning said, describing a video shown to her by McMillan staff. “How do you do that?”
Medical professionals at Children’s Hospital New Orleans treated the child for what they determined were second-degree burns. The injuries were so severe that doctors indicated the child may have permanent scars and potentially lose the range of motion in her hand.
“Harper’s waking up every two to three hours. She’s not allowing you to put her down. You can tell a change in her,” Vinning said. “No matter how happy she is, I know my child. She’s different.”
The arrest warrant reveals that the child was burned at 1:10 p.m., but Saulter did not notify the daycare administration until 3:50 p.m.
Vinning contends that Saulter is not the sole individual responsible for the incident. She maintains that all individuals involved should be held accountable.
In an interview with Fox 8, Dr. P.W. Reed, the Director of Operations and Principal at McMillan’s, defended the school’s handling of the incident. He emphasized that daycare staff have a duty to inform parents without taking it upon themselves to bring a child to the hospital.
Reed also mentioned that Saulter had faced “sheltering issues.” He stated, “We do have the autonomy to make sure that we’re vetting even more carefully – that we’re watching more carefully every single thing that we’re doing. I knew that she was dealing with some sheltering issues, and that’s all we knew. There were times that she was late, and yes, we confronted those issues and we dealt with those issues.”
Reed affirmed that they had never encountered an incident like this before. Saulter was immediately terminated, and the authorities were notified, including the police, child protective services, and state licensing.
Vinning expressed her anger toward both Saulter and McMillan’s, emphasizing the ordeal she and her child endured. She said, “My experience was pure hell. Nobody can take that from me. Did I want it to be pure hell? No. It’s my baby.”
