Parents irked day-care charges took so long

MURRAY — When David Crandall picked up his 16-month-old son, Issac, from day care, he immediately knew something was wrong.

"He was just lethargic and not very responsive and kind of moaning like he was in pain," said Kelley Crandall, Issac's mother.

David Crandall took his son to a pediatrician.

"She pretty much just walked in and looked at him and called an ambulance to take him to Primary Children's," Kelley Crandall said.

Issac was rushed into surgery and part of his pancreas was removed. The doctor said Issac was likely going into shock when his father picked him up, according to court records.

The day-care provider, Kami Kay Tollefson, 37, offered a couple of explanations, according to Crandall, including that Issac slipped on a toy car, his feet went out from under him and he landed on his back.

"She kept saying she had no idea what happened to him. She couldn't imagine he could be hurt that bad at her house," Kelley Crandall said.

Doctors, however, told the Crandalls that the injury had to come from the front, and the force of what caused his injuries would be comparable to an adult wearing steel toed boots stomping on his stomach.

Tollefson then changed her story, according to Crandall, and said she remembered a child hitting Issac in the stomach with a swing. Again, a doctor told the Crandalls that for the type of injury Issac suffered, "It would have to be a large child and Issac would have flown six feet."

That was in June of 2008. Murray police investigated and took the case to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office for possible charges. The DA's office, however, declined to file because of a lack of evidence.

This week, however, Tollefson was charged in Isaac's case and incidents involving two other children. She is charged with three counts of child abuse, a second-degree felony.

A new case of abuse was brought to the attention of Murray police just last month — the third involving Tollefson in 2 1/2 years.

"We were in shock when she was being (accused) again because she told us she wasn't watching children under the age of 4," Kelley Crandall said.

Today, Issac, who just turned 3, has made a full recovery. But the Crandalls are disheartened that it took the abuse of two more children before charges could be filed.