South Windsor Police have arrested a teacher and three supervisors of a daycare facility after an investigation into a child abuse complaint that authorities said was not reported to the state.
According to police, officers began an investigation in April after they received a complaint that a teacher at a local daycare was being abusive to children in her care. The complaint stated that the teacher handled children in a rough and aggressive way on three occasions.
Police did not release the name of the daycare that the teacher and supervisors worked for, but Mother Goose Children’s Center voluntarily surrendered its license earlier this month following allegations of abuse that came to light in a recent state inspection.
The complaint South Windsor police investigated also said that the daycare management was made aware of the teacher's behavior and did not report it to the state, even though they are required to by mandated reporter laws, police said.
South Windsor police said investigators from the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and the Department of Children and Families worked with them to investigate the incident and a teacher and three supervisors were arrested.
On Monday, police arrested 25-year-old Ashley Swietek, of South Windsor, 74-year-old Marjorie Glater, of South Windsor, 36-year-old Nicole Moriarty, of South Windsor and 44-year-old Brandy Novack, of Coventry.
Swietek is charged with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, while Glater, Moriarty and Novack are charged with failure of a mandated reported to report abuse.
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All four were released on bond and are scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 2.
According to the Office of Early Childhood, Glater, the daycare operator, voluntarily gave up her three licenses following the agency’s investigation. The OEC alleged that “on and prior to April 23, 2018, staff member engaged in abusive, neglectful and frightening treatment of children.”
Glater’s attorney Kevin Rennie said his client denies the alleged abuse and plans to enter a not-guilty plea
“It’s just a gross overreaction to then bring criminal charges to someone in this business 45 years serving parents and children in South Windsor. A beloved figure in our community and it’s preposterous these charges would have been brought against her," Rennie said.
State officials told NBC Connecticut earlier this month that the employee who was accused of the abuse was no longer employed at the center. They said Glater would work to implement a new director by Sept. 28.
Mother Goose Children’s Center is still open. The Office of Early Childhood Education has been visiting the facility daily. Glater has agreed with the Office of Early Childhood to not oversee day to day operations and is working administratively for now.
