Inset: Daniel Patrick Riley (Upper Gwynedd Police Department). Background: Little Lambs Daycare, where Riley is accused of abusing multiple children (WCAU).
A Pennsylvania daycare employee is accused of abusing several young children because they were singing or would not stay quiet, with the alleged incidents causing injuries that included a fractured ankle and ultimately prompting state officials to shut the facility down.
Daniel Patrick Riley, 47, has been charged with one count of aggravated assault, four counts of endangering the welfare of children, and a misdemeanor count of tampering with evidence, according to the Upper Gwynedd Police Department.
Police said the investigation began in March after multiple parents reported suspected child abuse at Little Lambs Daycare. Riley worked there as an assistant director and toddler room teacher, and the daycare is owned by his mother.
Authorities said the complaints included allegations that Riley kicked and stepped on a child’s foot, dragged a toddler across the floor and caused a rug burn “due to them singing,” and lifted another child from the ground with enough force to leave an abrasion.
Riley is also accused of grabbing a child’s face from beneath the chin and squeezing the child’s cheeks because the child was not sitting still or staying quiet.
Investigators further alleged that Riley yelled at children excessively and placed them in timeouts that lasted for an “unreasonable duration.”
Police said Riley also attempted to conceal what happened by deleting portions of video that allegedly showed the abuse. Following its own investigation, the Department of Human Services revoked Little Lambs Daycare’s license.
Upper Gwynedd Police Det. Dana Hallam told Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU that one of the children suffered a fractured ankle.
“There is another physical incident where he grabbed a child’s face, and there’s just multiple incidents where it involved that he went above of what he should’ve been doing as a guardian of these children,” Hallam said.
The TV station also spoke with a mother of one of the allegedly abused children. She said her daughter came home with bruises and other signs of neglect. The girl told her mother what Riley allegedly did to her.
“I have so many feelings, I am extremely hurt,” the mother told the TV station.
Riley turned himself in to the Montgomery County Prison on Thursday. He’s being held there on a $25,000 bond. His next court date is set for Aug. 13.
The post Daycare worker dragged child across floor for singing, squeezed another kid’s face for ‘not sitting still’ and fractured the ankle of 1 more: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.
