DSS employee responds to lawsuit involving toddler's death

CONCORD - A social worker named in a lawsuit against Cabarrus County Department of Social Services after the death of a toddler whose family was under DSS care has filed a response, denying many of the allegations made in the lawsuit filed by the boy’s father.

Caroline Leavelle was listed as a social worker for DSS in the lawsuit filed in January. Her response was filed by Raleigh-based attorney J. Matthew Little.

Kenneth Raynor, a Charlotte-based attorney, is representing Cabarrus County in the case. He said a response from the county was issued Monday and should be filed at the Cabarrus County Courthouse within the next two days. He said the response is a motion to dismiss the case. He declined to be more specific since he did not have the file with him when he was reached on his cell phone. He said a response had not been worked on yet.

“At this point, the response we filed was not to the point we’re responding to specific points or allegations,” he said.

The lawsuit was filed in January by Keith Christmas, the father of a 22-month-old who died while under supervision by Cabarrus County DSS.

In Leavelle’s individual response, she denies allegations made by Christmas, including that DSS had inadequately and unreasonably failed to access and appreciate the high degrees of risk associated with leaving the minor child, Alexandr Raymond Johnson-Christmas, with his mother, Tanya Yvette Johnson, and her boyfriend, Trevor Brown, based upon information available to them.

The response also denies:

• allegations that DSS failed to take the necessary and further actions to validate and confirm the information provided to them by Tanya Yvette Johnson and Trevor Brown and instead unreasonably relied on information supplied by the two,

• an allegation that DSS had information that Alexandr was either suffering from or had suffered from abuse and neglect, both physically and mentally,

• and that DSS employees in their acts and omissions failed to exercise ordinary and reasonable care and were negligent.

The response admits that DSS had received at least one report regarding Alexandr Christmas on or about December 2004, but Leavelle’s attorney lacked information regarding the specifics of the report.

The response also specifies Leavelle’s capacity in the case.

The lawsuit claimed Leavelle acted individually, but her response states that she was an intern.

“Defendant further admits any actions taken by her with regard to Alexandr Raymond Johnson-Christmas were taken in her capacity as an intern,” the response reads.

The lawsuit stems from the death of the toddler on Jan. 2, 2005. He died after suffering a traumatic blow to his torso, according to a Concord Police Department report. Brown, 23, of Concord, was the boyfriend of the boy’s mother and pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder and felony child abuse. Johnson, 38, of Concord, pleaded guilty in January to involuntary manslaughter.

• Contact Michael Knox at mknox@independenttribune.com or 704-789-9144.