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Man charged in boy's drowning
Police accuse family friend of homicide by child abuse
By Nadine Parks
The Post and Courier
Thursday, November 13, 2008
GOOSE CREEK — When 10-year-old Jon Jon Jackson died after swimming for the first time in his life this summer, officials believed he had simply inhaled too much water and drowned from the fluid in his lungs while sleeping more than an hour later.
It's a phenomenon known as secondary drowning, and his mother went on local and national television, warning other parents about the tragic condition that took her son's life.
But officials on Wednesday arrested a family friend who was trying to teach the autistic boy how to swim that day, accused him of causing the boy's death and implied that Jon Jon was dead before he came out of the pool, said Christine Meekins, the mother of the accused man.
Jon Jon's mother says she was at the pool, saw everything and that no one killed her child.
Saquan Celiak Meekins, 22, of Palm Coast, Fla., is charged with homicide by child abuse, said Casey Hoskins, Goose Creek public information officer.
Saquan Meekins was living with Jon Jon's family in the Branchwood Apartments off U.S. Highway 176 when the boy died. Jon Jon had been begging to go swimming, and the whole family trekked the short distance to the apartment complex pool June 1.
Jon Jon's mother, Cassandra Jackson, said that autistic children have difficulty with new experiences and sometimes overreact emotionally. Jon Jon was no exception that day, she said.
Jackson said Saquan Meekins was patient with Jon Jon, even though the boy swallowed a lot of water, stood up and screamed, said that he wanted to get out and yelled, "I don't want to die." Jackson said she fears that comment by the boy might have led to the arrest.
Jackson, Christine Meekins and others in the household said they gave statements to police that said Jon Jon walked home from the pool with them, said he was sleepy and laid down for a nap. When someone checked on him about an hour later, they found that his lips were blue and white foam was coming from his mouth. He was taken to Trident Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The official cause of death: asphyxiation by drowning, Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad said.
Christine Meekins said she went with her son, Saquan Meekins, to the police station on Wednesday. Investigators told her that they were basing their charges on witness accounts at the pool, and that a doctor told them Jon Jon died in the pool, she said.
Officials wouldn't discuss the details of the case, but 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said Saquan Meekins is accused of causing the boy's death.
She said the charge of homicide by child abuse requires "an extreme indifference to a child's life," and that the charges are a result, in part, of Saquan Meekin's actions at the pool.
Depending on the circumstances, he faces between 10 years to life in prison.
The coroner said police told him about two months ago that they wanted to talk to a pathologist about the autopsy. He wasn't aware that anyone had been arrested in the case.
He said the official cause of death has not changed.
Jackson said the accusations against Saquan Meekins are untrue.
"I've never blamed him. Even in my darkest hour, I've never even thought that he was responsible," she said. "It never crossed my mind."
Jackson appeared on local television news shows, the Oprah Winfrey show, Inside Edition and in "Jet" magazine, and she asked parents to watch their children after swimming, especially if they took in a lot of water. It gave her some comfort to know that Jon Jon's death might save someone else, she said.
"I was just getting to the point where it (the grief) was somewhat tolerable. Now, it's like somebody took a razor and just sliced it open again," she said. "We fear what we don't understand, and this is a prime example. Since we don't understand this (secondary drowning), we have to try to find someone to blame."
Saquan Meekins is a former Berkeley High School student. His bond hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. today at Goose Creek Municipal Court on U.S. Highway 52.
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