Mother Testifies in Case of Child-Abuse Suspect

Unhappy with her baby’s child-care provider, a Simi Valley mother had already scheduled appointments with two nanny candidates the day her 11-month-old was allegedly shaken to the point of unconsciousness.

Jennifer Read told a jury Wednesday that she canceled those appointments as her son, Jack, was airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles after sustaining life-threatening injuries while at Margaret Major’s day-care center.

Major, 49, is charged with felony child abuse and inflicting great bodily injury for allegedly shaking Jack Read so hard in September 1997 that he almost died.

The boy, now 2, survived his injuries but suffered such severe brain swelling that he is permanently brain damaged, said Deputy Dist. Atty. John Blair.

Major, whose child-abuse trial started Friday, lost her child-care license after the Sept. 24, 1997, incident. She could face 11 years in prison if convicted.

On Wednesday, the prosecution called Jennifer Read to testify about her child’s health before the incident as well as her observations of Major’s in-home care center.

Read told the jury that Major had come highly recommended from a friend who had researched care providers in the Simi Valley area. Read visited the center and said she liked the playful atmosphere, the toys scattered around.

She thought her son would benefit from socializing with other children, and Major had a two-day opening which fit perfectly with her part-time work schedule at Rocketdyne, Read said.

“I thought it was going to be great,” Read said.

But in the first two days with Major, Read said, she and her husband, David, became concerned about Major’s home safety and disciplinary practices--particularly with their child.

“She told me that she thought [Jack] had a temper, which I disagreed with,” Read testified.

On his second day, the boy came home with a swollen lip that he hadn’t had that morning, the mother testified. She said she called Major that evening, and Major told her that Jack must have fallen down.

At that point, Read testified, she and her husband decided to remove Jack from the child-care center and started looking for a nanny. Despite her concerns, Read said, they decided to leave Jack with Major one more day. Read had set up two interviews for the night of Sept. 24 with potential nannies. But Read said she had called someone to cancel those appointments.

About 1:30 that afternoon, Jack was taken to Simi Valley Hospital and later airlifted to Childrens Hospital. Read said the neurologist told the parents the child had been abused.

Defense attorney Nancy D. Aronson repeatedly questioned Read about a fall the baby had had the previous evening at their home. Read said her son slipped and hit his head on the wood floor, but wasn’t seriously hurt.

“He was so quickly distracted and he stopped crying,” Read said. “It just, it wasn’t significant.”