Swim instructor arrested months after 4-year-old drowns during lesson, Georgia cops say
A swim instructor has been charged months after a 4-year-old boy drowned while in her care, authorities in Georgia say.
Agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation served Lexie C. TenHuisen, 66, with an arrest warrant on Tuesday, Jan. 17, in connection to the drowning death of Israel Scott, according to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
She was booked on a charge of involuntary manslaughter before being released on a $10,000 cash bond, deputies said.
Israel was on his second day of swim lessons with TenHuisen when he was found unresponsive at the bottom of a pool on June 14, 2022, McClatchy News reported. He was rushed to a hospital where he died.
The child’s mother, Dori Scott, shared her grief on social media and recalled her son being nervous about starting swim lessons.
“It hurts to think that nothing, absolutely nothing will bring my sweet boy back to me,” she wrote on Facebook at the time. “I chose who I thought would be a great fit for him to learn how to swim, but ... who would have thought this would happen.”
The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, said Israel drowned about 10 minutes before his swim lesson ended, WRDW reported. There were 10 swimmers, including Israel, in the class.
Dori Scott said her family is “not happy at all” with how things turned out.
“Of course we’re not happy,” she told McClatchy News, adding the criminal charges weren’t enough. “It took seven months since my son drowned and (TenHuisen) is just now being arrested. She never even sat one day in jail, so no, we’re not pleased with that.”
Authorities initially declined to charge TenHuisen in Israel’s death, saying the case “lacks sufficient evidence to prove criminal negligence.” On Jan. 18, deputies said the instructor’s arrest was the result of an investigation into the drowning.
Additional details about the investigation weren’t immediately available on Jan. 18. The GBI has directed questions about the case to the county district attorney’s office.
Scott said TenHuisen has showed no remorse since her son’s drowning and has not apologized. The family now has a pending civil case against the instructor, she said.
It’s unclear if TenHuisen has retained an attorney, and efforts to reach her were unsuccessful.
Burke County is about 170 miles southeast of Atlanta.
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Swim instructor arrested months after 4-year-old drowns during lesson, Georgia cops say."