AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) – A plea hearing has been pushed back for the Stuarts Draft daycare owner who was charged after a young child died in her home.
Denise Machelle Stewart had been scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Thursday morning in Augusta County Circuit Court. However, online records show that the hearing was delayed until June 11.
Stewart, 53, is charged with 15 counts, including 13 related to child abuse.
According to Sheriff’s Lieutenant Leslie Snyder, authorities responded to her home daycare in October 2022 for reports of an unresponsive infant. Emergency workers could not revive the child.
An investigation failed to prove that Stewart caused the death.
However, Snyder said that most of the charges stemmed from Stewart exceeding the state-mandated child-to-adult ratio.
