Arrest report details child abuse charges against TN childcare director after child found locked in room ‘covered in feces’

A childcare facility director from Middle Tennessee was arrested on Thursday after authorities discovered her 4-year-old child locked in a Franklin, Kentucky bedroom without supervision. An arrest report obtained by WSMV4 outlines charges against Morgan Soper, the director of KinderCare in Goodlettsville, and Johnathan Jenkins, the child’s father. Both Soper and Jenkins now face 89 counts of wanton endangerment, 89 counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, and one count of criminal abuse of a child aged 12 or younger.

Deputies responded to a welfare check on Springfield Road’s 4900 block after a concerned 911 caller, attempting to deliver a package, aggressively knocked on the door multiple times (front and back) with no response. The caller witnessed a small child in a rear bedroom crying and knocking on the window, seemingly unattended.

Upon arrival, deputies discovered the child in the back bedroom, lying on a floor mattress wearing only a diaper. The room was locked with a padlock, and no other individuals were present in the home. Consequently, the Department of Community-Based Services was contacted.

According to the report, the parents informed deputies that the child had been confined in the room since June 9 after being expelled from daycare. Both parents worked out of state, leaving early in the morning and returning home in the mid-afternoon.

The child was found covered in feces, and multiple firearms were found throughout the residence, along with several empty alcoholic beverage containers.