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2015 complaint sheds light on West Knox Co. daycare after baby found unresponsive

The Knox County Sheriff's Office said it's investigating after a 3-month-old baby died after being found unresponsive at a daycare on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

WEST KNOX COUNTY — A day after the Knox County Sheriff Office said autopsy results were unable to determine what contributed to the death of a 3-month-old baby who was found unresponsive at a West Knox County daycare, 10News acquired a copy of the 2015 complaint filed against the daycare owner.

Sonyu Qualls was operating the child care facility on Wednesday, Aug. 19 when the Department of Human Services said she did not and does not currently have a license to operate.

The baby was found unresponsive at Qualls' in-home daycare in the Hardin Valley area in West Knox County and was taken to Parkwest Hospital where the child was pronounced dead, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Department of Human Services Spokesperson Sky Arnold said Qualls legally can’t care for more than four unrelated children at a time.

"On 9/19/18, Ms. Qualls indicated that she was providing child care for (3) or more hours per day to 5 or more children who are not related. Ms. Qualls agreed to stop providing illegal operation immediately," Arnold said.

Last week, Arnold said DHS will continue to work with local law enforcement and DCS and take appropriate court action to ensure that Qualls does not continue illegal operation.

On Wednesday, DHS said it filed an injunction order that was entered by the court on Tuesday. According to Arnold, it basically prohibits Qualls from violating the licensing laws she agreed last week to follow.

"The injunction basically prohibits her from violating the licensing laws she agreed last week to follow. The order doesn’t prevent her from caring for kids but if she’s caught violating the law and caring for more than 4 unrelated children at a time she could be placed in contempt of court," Arnold said.

10News is working to get a copy of the injunction order.

Records show from November 2000 to October 2003, Qualls was operating a "registered home" which allowed her to care for up to four unrelated children, according to Arnold.

She was licensed to operate Sonyu's Lots-A-Tots from July 2006 to August 2014, according to DHS, at which she voluntarily surrendered her license.

"In September of 2015, the Department of Human Services received a complaint that Qualls was operating illegally. TDHS visited the home and confirmed she was operating with more children than legally allowed. Qualls agreed to reduce the number of children she was caring for and a follow up visit found no violations," Arnold said in a statement last week.

A copy of that complaint states someone anonymously called DHS about six unrelated children being in her home. The caller, who said she thought Qualls was licensed, said her son was there from December 2014 to August 2015 and would always be 'starving and screaming.' She claimed on her son's last day, she was emptying his backpack when she allegedly found two shotgun shells in the bag.

Qualls later told a program evaluator that she "had no knowledge of any of the children's diaper bags containing shot gun bullets" but the complaint states she did admit that there are guns in the home belonging to her husband. She also claimed that the guns stay locked up.

The caller's son's last day was Aug. 7, 2015, according to the complaint which was filed on Sept. 30, 2015.

On Oct. 1, 2015, the program evaluator made an unannounced visit to the home. When she arrived, she observed six children including one related and five unrelated. At that visit, Qualls stated she had been caring for a total of seven children but one wasn't there that day.

In the complaint, the program evaluator reiterated that Qualls was "well aware that she can not keep more than 4 unrelated children without a license."

A Statement of Child Care Operation was given to Qualls. The document states she completed the statement and said she was providing care to unrelated children, and that her unlicensed and unregulated child care home operates from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

According to the complaint, Qualls was adamant that she did not want to pursue licensing at the time or in the future. She said in order to come in compliance with the law, she would need to disenroll two of the unrelated children.

During the unannounced visit, the children were housed in a back room, according to the complaint, and appeared to be craving attention from Qualls. She would walk over to them and speak but didn't go in the room with them.

Two program evaluators returned to the home the next day and said there were four unrelated children and one related child there. She claimed she was "under the impression that she could keep more than four unrelated children if she kept them on different days." The complaint states she was told she must keep the same four children regardless of the days they attended.

Arnold said DHS has received no further complaints on this agency since 2015.

The sheriff's office said it is now awaiting toxicology and pathology test results to determine the cause of death for the infant.

Longtime neighbor Royce Fout said he's known the daycare owner and his wife for years.

"I went to school with the husband and we’ve been neighbors since '96, great people," said Fout. "They actually watched our kid when he was growing up, and he’s 17 now. We think the world of them. They’re really good neighbors.”

Fout said he was surprised when he heard about the 3-month-old's death. He says he can only imagine the heartbreak both the parents and the daycare operator are feeling.

“Let the system play out," said Fout. "These are good people. Don’t judge them by what’s happened. We’ve always had good neighbors here, we think the world of them, and just don’t pass judgment until you know the full facts.”

Parents can find a host of useful information to help them locate a licensed child care agency close to them on the DHS website here.

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