Parents in Oklahoma and around the country place a great deal of trust in day care facilities, but that trust is sometimes misplaced. Young children can be temperamental and difficult to control, and caring for them requires a great deal of patience. When day care staff become frustrated, the children under their care sometimes face the brunt of their anger. This is what happened at a day care facility in Missouri in July 2022.
Second-degree assault
The events unfolded at a day care center in Fredericktown. A police officer was dispatched to the facility to assist in an investigation being conducted by the Missouri Department of Social Services Children’s Division. When he arrived at the scene, he was told that video camera footage showed a female member of staff assaulting a young child. The recording showed the woman holding throwing the child to the ground and stamping on his leg. The 43-year-old woman was taken into custody and charged with assault in the second degree and abusing or neglecting a child.
Spiral fracture
The boy was evaluated at Madison Medical Center and treated at the St. Louis children’s Hospital. When they examined his leg, doctors discovered that the day care accident had left him with a spiral fracture to his right tibia. The woman told police that she had 12 years of day care experience, and she also admitted that she was the person other staff members would come to when discipline was needed. Her bail was set at $50,000.
Day care video monitoring systems
This case shows that even experienced daycare professionals can become enraged and lash out at helpless children. It also demonstrates how useful video monitoring systems in day care facilities can be. If this woman’s actions had not been recorded by surveillance cameras, the authorities may not have had enough evidence to hold her responsible for her actions.