LAWSUIT FILED BY PAIR OF WOMEN IN BOYD COUNTY, KENTUCKY CIRCUIT COURT CLAIMS PHYSICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE AT ASHLAND DAYCARE
CHILD CARE FACILITY IS AFFILIATED WITH KING’S DAUGHTERS MEDICAL CENTER IN ASHLAND
DECEMBER 23, 2025 – written by WADE QUEEN
A CALL FOR JUSTICE: CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER CORPORATION IN ASHLAND, KY., WHICH IS AFFILIATED WITH UK-KING’S DAUGHTERS MEDICAL CENTER.
The suit filed in Boyd County Circuit Court alleges several counts related to the abuse: negligence, negligence per se, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault (two counts), battery (two counts), false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress (two counts), civil conspiracy, and aiding and abetting.
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The two victims in the case began attending Child Development Center Corporation in their infancy, according to Boyd County Circuit Court records.
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In August 2024, a 3-year-old boy allegedly spit on a table, prompting one of three caregivers responsible for the 3-year-old classroom to ask Sabrina Kitts to come over to their room. Sabrina Kitts, according to the suit, was in charge of the 4-year-old room.
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Boyd County Circuit Court records show Sabrina Kitts walked over to the child, grabbed him, physically restrained him and then forced other children to form a single-file line and take turns spitting on him.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs called it a “shocking and appalling means of punishing (the victim).”
The lawsuit states two other adults were in the room and did nothing to curtail the punishment. They also, according to Boyd County Circuit Court documents, did not report the spitting abuse as required by Kentucky law.
Closed-circuit television footage captured the August 2024 incident. The suit indicates that Leighann McKenzie, Donald Damron, and Earnest Duty, all saw the footage and did not act on it or report it to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
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Leighann McKenzie, who was the facility’s director at the time, stayed in her position until January 2025, according to the lawsuit. Sabrina Kitts remained a teacher there until January 2025, the suit states.
In March 2025, Donald Damron and Earnest Duty informed the mother they decided not to report the actions to the Cabinet because they could not conclude if any spit actually made contact with her child, according to the suit.
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The child’s mother removed her boy from the day care upon learning of the alleged incident about seven months after it occurred.
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“I saw enough to substantiate the complaint,” Sheriff Reihs said.
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According to the lawsuit, the original lead detective (Chase Kirk) had initially recommended to the mother that she not watch the footage of the spitting incident, saying it was too graphic.
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The detective, through Sheriff Reihs, denied that assertion. Sheriff Reihs said he always leaves that decision completely up to the parents.
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The lawsuit indicates the co-plaintiff; a mother of another child; learned of the incident in March 2025.
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Child Development Center Corporation, meanwhile, did not formally notify parents until a year after the incident (August 2025), the lawsuit alleges.
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Boyd County Circuit Court records indicate Donald Damron, when confronted, told one of the mothers there were “other things like dodgeball coming to the surface.”
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Donald Damron is a UK-Kings Daughter’s senior manager overseeing the Child Development Center.
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Tom Dearing, UK-Kings Daughter’s Director of Integrated Communications, issued this statement to the newspaper: “UK-King’s Daughters Medical Center is unable to comment on pending legal matters. However, the health and safety of the children at the Child Development Center remain our top priority.”
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Both victims have dealt with health issues since the incidents in question, according to the suit.
The co-plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs for this action, a trial by jury on all triable counts and “any and all other relief as the Court deems just and proper.”
