Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 10:32 a.m.
The Child Care Licensing Board agreed to suspend the license of a Las Vegas home day-care business Wednesday pending the outcome of felony child abuse proceedings against the owner.
Teresita Carthen, of 1605 Robin St., was charged in District Court with child abuse after a 9-month-old infant under her care suffered a broken thigh bone on May 10.
Attorney Robert Lucherini, who represents Carthen, said a preliminary hearing tentatively is set for Nov. 12.
The board unanimously voted to accept the recommendation of William Henry, an attorney for the city of Las Vegas, and put Carthen's license on hold for one year effective at 5 p.m. Friday.
Henry said the two-day delay was a "value judgment call."
He noted five or six children are being taken care of at Carthen's home and to abruptly suspend the license would inconvenience the parents of the children.
Henry said in one year the suspension will be re-examined, which will give Carthen the chance to resolve her criminal case. If the case has not been resolved during that period, the suspension will be continued another year.
Lucherini said his client agreed to the suspension in a negotiated settlement. He said he doesn't feel the children still at the center are in danger.
"There has not been a problem in the past," Lucherini said.
Carthen was licensed Sept. 7, 1995.
Henry said that the infant's femur was broken while under Carthen's supervision and that Carthen failed to report the fact that she had been arrested because of the incident.
The attorney said Carthen violated two regulations, one that she report any arrest and that she "not harm or allow harm to come" to any child in her care.
Henry told the board Carthen was the only adult at home when the infant suffered the broken leg. The only others there were several children, the oldest aged 3.
"Common sense suggests there is no way the child could have suffered a misadventure and broken its own leg and that there was no way the other children present could have done it," Henry said.
Henry also said Carthen did not explain how the injury occurred.
However, Lucherini expressed confidence it would be explained in court.
Lucherini said when his client goes to court, it will "give us a chance to exonerate ourselves."
He declined to discuss how the injury might have happened, but said there are explanations.
"Certain types of injuries create the appearance of what this lady has been charged with," he said.
Henry said when the infant's mother called the home to check on her baby, Carthen told her the child was acting fussy.
When the mother came to check on the baby she knew immediately something worse was wrong, Henry said, and she took the infant to the hospital.
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