A woman who was working at a day care center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, is accused of abusing children in her care and recording the assaults on video that went viral.
Kayla Greenwell, 23, of Oxon Hill, faces charges of child abuse and assault. She briefly appeared in court on Monday and was ordered held without bond.
“These acts were really outrageous, and I believe that the judge agreed with us that there is no bond that would protect the public from her,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
Prince George’s County police say that according to an initial investigation, Greenwell “recorded herself abusing the children on her cell phone” on Wednesday. Police said they received multiple videos on Friday that showed Greenwell assaulting children at the day care center. Greenwell was arrested and went into Department of Corrections custody.
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Video footage obtained by News4 allegedly shows Greenwell abusing two 3-year-old children who were in her care. News4 blurred the video to protect the children who were harmed and those who witnessed the crime.
Court documents say Greenwell kicked a chair out from under one of the children, causing him to fall with a “pained expression on his face.” Another video segment also allegedly shows her pick up and throw a little girl to the ground before kicking her several times. Detectives are reviewing video from inside the day care center to try to determine if there were any other victims.
The documents say Greenwell “provided a statement confessing to the assaults.” It wasn’t immediately clear if she has a lawyer.
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A father who dropped his toddler off at the day care center early Monday called the alleged crime “concerning.”
“Someone would do this to a kid and then record themselves doing it?” Nathan Harrell asked.
In a letter to families, a day care administrator called the video “disturbing.”
“We take seriously the safety of your children; therefore, upon being informed of the video, we immediately took action. The employee was fired,” Jimmy L. Wilson wrote.
The day care center reported the alleged abuse to police, child protective services officials and child care officials, Wilson wrote. Greenwell had passed a criminal background check and child abuse check, he said. She began working at the center in late March, police said.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police.
Greenwell is set to remain in custody without bond at least until her next court appearance on May 8.
