SIOUX FALLS, SD (RNN) – Two former daycare workers have been arrested on 25 counts of child abuse after they allegedly routinely harmed the young children in their care during naptime, KSFY reports.
Police began investigating 31-year-old Teresa Gallagher and 22-year-old Kenedi Wendt in February after a parent called with allegations their toddler was being abused at Little Blessings Daycare in Sioux Falls, SD.
The daycare terminated Gallagher and Wendt shortly after the allegations were made, based on surveillance camera footage, according to KDLT.
Police then reviewed the footage in which they say there were multiple instances where the women would pick up one of the children, ages 3 and 4, before slamming them back onto their sleep mats.
KSFY reports the women also allegedly stepped on the children, knocked their heads around and yanked their arms.
Most of the children in the room were victimized, according to KDLT.
In most instances of the alleged abuse, police told KSFY the children don’t seem to be misbehaving in a way that would provoke disciplinary action.
Police arrested Gallagher and Wendt, and the two now face 25 counts of abuse or cruelty to a minor and are being held on a $25,000 cash bond.
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