An Ohio-based daycare worker is facing charges of child endangerment after allegedly using painter’s tape to bind a one-year-old girl’s eyes, hands, and feet, leaving her face down under a blanket unattended. The 23-year-old woman, Katelyn Strohacker, was employed at Over the Rainbow Children’s Center in Pataskala at the time of the incident on July 21.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Licking County last week, Strohacker is accused of using the tape as a form of physical punishment and restraint, which the complaint describes as cruel. The mother of the child was alerted to the incident by the daycare center’s director, Jamie Schoelkopf, and subsequently contacted the police on August 7.
The mother’s account of the incident alleges that Strohacker had bound her daughter and left her in a bed for an hour after wrapping her with the tape. The investigation into the incident revealed that Strohacker had placed tape over the child’s eyes, taped her hands behind her back, and bound her feet together before leaving her face down under a blanket.
The complaint further states that Strohacker admitted to the act during an interview and confessed to having done this on more than one occasion. Following her arrest, Strohacker was released on a $50,000 surety bond. She is currently prohibited from having unsupervised contact with minors and is due to appear at a preliminary hearing on August 28.
Over the Rainbow Children’s Center has not publicly commented on the incident. However, in a statement to local CBS affiliate WBNS, the daycare center emphasized that safety is their top priority. The statement also revealed that both the employee involved in the incident and the supervisor have been terminated. The center has been in contact with the family of the child involved and has reported the incident to authorities.