Alabama day care worker accused of child abuse against 5 toddlers

BLOUNT COUNTY, Ala. (TCD) -- A 47-year-old day care worker was arrested for allegedly abusing several children at her place of work.

According to the Birmingham Real-Time News, the suspect, Linda Self, was employed at Lester Memorial United Methodist Church Daycare in Oneonta. Video surveillance reportedly captured some of the alleged abuse at the day care, and an investigation was launched in late 2021.

According to WBRC-TV, there were at least five victims, though their names were not released and police did not go into detail about the exact acts of abuse. According to WBRC, Self was charged for aggravated abuse of a child under the age of 6, and she faces four other charges for abuse against children ages 2 and 3 years old. One of the victims, a 2-year-old child, was reportedly abused multiple times over the course of a year.

Lauderdale District Attorney Chris Connolly told WBRC that parents noticed behavioral changes in their children, adding, "The parents are extremely rightfully very upset about what they’ve learned was happening to their children at this day care. The next step for her will be to appear for formal arraignment where the court will apprise her specifically of the five charges against her, and then after that point it’ll be set for a pretrial conference and a jury trial."

WBRC reports that it is believed Self had been employed at the day care since 2020. At the moment, there is reportedly no evidence indicating that any other employees inflicted abuse against children at the day care.

Self reportedly turned herself in on Monday, Jan. 31, with bond set at $75,000. According to WBRC, she was eventually released on bond.

According to WBRC, parents had alerted the news outlet, saying that the day care did not tell them about the alleged abuse.

Since the allegations, Self was reportedly fired from the day care.

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