A Newtown daycare worker is accused of manhandling a 2-year-old child in her care, leaving him with scratches on his neck and arms.
Newtown Township police allege that classroom surveillance video showed Erin Burke, 28, behaving in a “clearly agitated manner” with the boy while she was working at Newtown Discovery Preschool on Blacksmith Road.
Police responded to the school after receiving a ChildLine referral reporting a student at the school suffered “superficial scratches” on his neck and arms on July 24, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The school officials told police that Burke reported the incident to her administrator, who observed the injuries
and documented them.
After a school administrator reviewed the classroom video footage she sent Burke home, notified higher ups at the school, the student’s parents and submitted the ChildLine report, the affidavit said.
Burke is no longer employed at the daycare, her attorney, Lou Busico, said.
He added that the scratches to the child were “purely accidental,” and his client immediately reported them to her supervisor.
“Erin loves children,” Busico added. “And many parents entrust their children to her care.”
In the video footage, Burke was allegedly observed multiple times manhandling the child, including roughly changing his clothes, lifting him off the ground by his wrist, dropping him six inches face down on a cushioned mat, and pushing his head into a pillow, the affidavit said.
In the video, Burke appeared to be moving in “a clearly agitated manner,” the affidavit said. At one point while carrying the child across the room, Burke “inadvertently” knocked down another child with her leg without noticing, the affidavit said.
When police interviewed Burke at her home several days after the incident, she allegedly told them that she was frustrated that the boy was crying because he didn’t want to go outside.
She admitted the injuries on the child were the result of her grabbing him “out of frustration,” and that she handled the situation “very poorly,” the affidavit said.
“She agreed that she was too rough with the child and that her behavior was unacceptable,” the affidavit said.
Burke was arraigned Aug. 6 before District Judge Michael Petrucci on a felony charge of endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanor simple assault. She is free on unsecured bail.
Crime and Court Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex Newtown child care worker accused of manhandling toddler, charged
