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Fumigators plead guilty in boy's poisoning case

Posted at 2:14 PM, Mar 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-10 18:36:58-05

Sunland Pest Control fumigators pleaded guilty in Federal Court Thursday.

The company's owner and an employee are charged with two federal crimes for their involvement in the poisoning of a Palm City 10 year-old.

Peyton McCaughey's family says he suffered severe brain damage after their home was tented for termites last August.

These two men could face up to a year in prison each for not properly fumigating the McCaughey's home.

Thursday, Sunland was back in federal court in Fort Piece. The company's owner, Grenale Williams, and an employee Canarie Curry entered into a plea agreement. Both men pleaded guilty to using the restricted pesticide improperly. The company admitted in court Thursday that it did not properly aerate the property or test the air afterwards. These actions, prosecutors say ultimately resulted in the poisoning of Peyton McCaughey.

Williams also admitted that the company lied about what pesticide it was actually using and lied about the fumigation in question during an investigation with the EPA.

Sunland was the company contracted by by Terminix to do the fumigation..

Prosecutors filed the charges in January. The defendants pleaded not guilty in February, but their lawyers confirmed they planned to plead guilty at the next hearing.

Peyton's family says he is still going through intense rehabilitation. We have reached out to the family for comment. 

Sentencing has been scheduled for May 11