Second Daycare Teacher Convicted of Cruelty in ‘Baby Fight Club'

A second former daycare teacher has been convicted of child cruelty and other counts for abusive behavior toward a classroom of 2-year-olds that a prosecutor described as a "baby fight club."

Twenty-six-year-old Kierra Spriggs of Woodbridge was convicted Thursday on four felony counts of child cruelty and two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery after a two-week jury trial in Prince William County, Virginia.

She could face up to five years in prison on each felony count and up to 12 months on each misdemeanor count. The jury is trying to decide on a sentence. The judge can decide to suspend parts of the sentence the jury hands down.

Another former teacher, Sarah Jordan, was found guilty in January on similar charges.

Spriggs and Jordan had worked at Minnieland Academy at The Glen in Woodbridge.

The investigation began in 2013 after a report from the Virginia Department of Social Services claimed workers at the childcare facility stomped on children's bare toes, covered their mouths with blankets and sprayed them with full pressure hoses, among other alleged abuses.

Parents told News4 they noticed changes in their children's behavior during the time of the alleged abuse.

During Jordan's trial, prosecutor Ashleigh Landers likened the daycare class to a "baby fight club," inflicting suffering for the teachers' amusement.

Two other teachers in the classroom testified that Spriggs systemically mistreated the toddlers, including encouraging twin sisters to fight. One teacher testified that Spriggs fed a Flamin' Hot Cheeto to a toddler, leaving the girl gasping for air.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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