Conn. day care teacher allegedly threw 2-year-old into the wall 'like a piece of luggage'
03/13/2024 3:05 pm PDT
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (TCD) -- A woman was fired from her job at an early learning center after she was allegedly caught throwing a toddler into a wall in January.
According to a statement, on Jan. 12, someone went to the Middletown Police Department and requested that Kristie Kovarcik be arrested following the incident at Town & Country Early Learning Center. Detectives from the Special Investigations Unit obtained surveillance footage from the school, which "confirmed that Kovarcik picked up the minor child and tossed the child to the side." The child's head hit the wall and they sustained a small contusion above their eye.
On the day in question, the school's director "heard a commotion" coming from Kovarcik's room and looked at surveillance footage. She removed the child from the classroom and reported the situation to their parents and the Department of Children and Families.
Kovarcik's warrant, which was obtained by NBC Connecticut, says she told police that children were wrestling and fighting in the classroom, so she lifted the victim and their head hit the wall.
The child's guardian, however, said it looked like Kovarcik picked up the child by their shirt and threw them in the air "like a piece of luggage."
Police obtained a warrant to arrest Kovarcik on charges of risk of injury to a minor and second-degree reckless endangerment. She turned herself in to police on Feb. 26.
Kovarcik allegedly also kicked, shoved, and dropped other children in the classroom on different occasions. She is no longer working at Town & Country Early Learning Center.
The school told NBC Connecticut in a statement, "Upon observing the incident involving Ms. Kovarcik on our internal camera monitoring system, we immediately initiated an internal investigation, notified the appropriate state authorities, and terminated the employee. Our safety and training protocols are amongst the strictest in our industry and we treat any such incident with the utmost seriousness. The safety and protection of the children in our care is always our top priority."
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