A second person charged with the criminal abuse of children while employed at the First United Methodist Church Daycare Center was sentenced to a year in jail after a jury could not agree to her punishment.
55-year-old Nina Morgan was found guilty of a misdemeanor criminal abuse charge at the conclusion of the four-day trial Thursday in Christian County Circuit Court.
Morgan was charged after a Hopkinsville Police Department investigation into the abuse at the daycare in December 2018 and January 2019.
After deliberating for over two hours, the jury informed Circuit Judge John Atkins that they could not agree on the punishment for the misdemeanor conviction. Pursuant to state law, Atkins then handed down the sentence of one year which is the maximum for the charge.
click to download audioWith an emotional Morgan at his side following the announcement, attorney Michael Thompson then advised the judge he would seek an alternate punishment to incarceration since Morgan had no prior felony offenses.
click to download audioMorgan was tried with former co-worker Allison Simpson, who was found guilty of 27 counts of criminal abuse, including 18 felonies. Morgan will be ordered to surrender to the court to begin her jail sentence on July 6.
