By GREGG MONTGOMERY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Court documents released Wednesday provided details into the allegations of battery at a Fishers child care center.
Taxter
Molly Taxter, 23, a former employee of a child care center in Fishers, was arrested Tuesday on 19 counts of battery just over a month after a concerned parent reported their child was suffering from bruising, police say. On Wednesday afternoon, online records showed the Noblesville woman remained in the Hamilton County Jail on a $150,000 bond.
On March 16, the Fishers Police Department launched an investigation after a parent reported their child was suffering from a handprint bruise on her right leg after they came home from the Kiddie Academy child care center, 11703 Olio Road, a release said Tuesday. The parent immediately contacted the owner of the child care center and met to view the surveillance video from the classroom. Police say the video showed a child care employee physically abusing the child. The owner of the child care immediately fired that employee the same day.
The court documents released Wednesday provided additional detail. The surveillance video showed Taxter “shoving Juvenile Victim 1’s head into the changing table, slamming her down, as well as covering her face with a blanket” on March 6. The girl later appeared to be dropped to the floor, and later picked up by one arm and dragged across a room to a “cubby.” The girl is then shoved into a chair, and the chair is shoved so hard into a table that it moved forward.
In talking later with the owner of the child care center, Taxter said that “she may have done it.” Taxter said she was agitated and frustrated by the child’s frequent crying. Taxter also told the owner that she’d worked at the facility for six years, was burnt out, and should not be working with kids.
Taxter later told a Fishers Police Department detective that she felt guilty for what she did, and she admitted to being aggressive with the child. The detective showed photographs to Taxter of the child’s head injuries.
The court documents also outlined details from video surveillance of Taxter’s incidents with other children from March 6 to 15. The incidents included:
- Multiple instances of children being picked up by one arm.
- Multiple instances of children being thrown or dropped to the ground or onto a mat.
- Multiple instances of children being dragged.
- Multiple instances of children being shoved or pushed into chairs, and their chairs pushed aggressively into a table, causing it to move forward.
- Taxter, trying to get eight children to lie down, becomes very aggressive with a girl not lying down. Taxter yanks the girl down and forces her head down on the cot by pushing the back of the child’s head. A short time later, Taxter picks up a boy and slams him back down. Later, Taxter forcefully pushed the girl and the boy down onto their cots. Later, another boy sits up in his cot, and Taxter grabs the back of his head and slams him into the cot.
- Kicking a boy’s back.
- Striking one girl at least 10 times.
- Aggressively handling a girl while changing her diaper.
The child care center had a “timeout area” which did not have a surveillance camera, and investigators note that may be where some injuries happened, the court documents noted.
Also, in some cases, the video showed other child care providers were in the vicinity of Taxter when the incidents happened.
News 8’s Daja Stowe contributed to this report.
Statement from Kiddie Academy Daycare
“On Wednesday, March 15th, we became aware that an assistant teacher in our Toddler room had been acting in a manner contrary to our core values and commitment to provide safe and healthy environments for all children in our care. Upon learning of the behavior, we notified the appropriate authorities, and the teacher was terminated. Representatives from CPS and Licensing began their investigation on Friday, March 17th and we have since learned that the former teacher is being formally charged for her actions.
“Our team is dedicated to sound leadership decisions, swiftly addressing concerns, aligning with local licensing bodies and ensuring that the trust of each family is earned and maintained. We will continue to fully cooperate with local authorities during any further investigation of this matter.
“We are a local, family-owned independent business and parents ourselves, who care deeply about our children and our community. There is nothing more important than creating a nurturing and safe environment for the children in our care, and their families – it is our life’s commitment.”