Gov. Phil Bryant (pictured) Friday honored Tausha Rawls and her supervisor, Melody Vaughn, for their response to a tip that neighbors hadn't seen a boy at a Canton apartment complex for a while. Photo by Imani Khayyam.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services employees are getting an award for discovering an abused boy.
Gov. Phil Bryant Friday honored Tausha Rawls and her supervisor, Melody Vaughn, for their response to a tip that neighbors hadn't seen a boy at a Canton apartment complex for a while.
Rawls says the parents denied having such a child, but documents showed he existed. After calling police, the malnourished child was found locked in a closet.
The parents, Latasha Leonard and Anthony Holiday, are indicted in Madison County on charges relating to the incident.
Vaughn says the boy, who had never been to school, is improving. The couple's other seven children are also in foster care.
Bryant was named a "Champion for Children" Friday for his work improving foster care.
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