NEWTOWN, PA - A daycare worker has been accused of assaulting a two-year-old child. The woman, identified as 27-year-old Erin Burke, was arrested when authorities say she dropped the toddler on his head and swung him around by his wrist in frustration.
Burke is now facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, according to court records reviewed by Law & Crime. She has since been released from custody after posting bond.
Late on July 24, Newtown Township Police were contacted about an incident involving a child that happened at Newtown Discovery Preschool on Blacksmith Road. The boy, a two-year-old student at the preschool, was located with a "scratch on the child's neck and back of both arms," according to an affidavit of probable cause.
As detectives continued to investigate, they spoke with school leaders and reviewed surveillance footage from earlier that day, finding that the incident occurred as Burke was "attempting to change the clothes of the child," who appeared to be crying.
"Burke then stands up and picks the child up before moving him across the classroom and drops him face down from approximately 6 inches in the air onto a cushioned mat area," the court document states. "Burke then moves across the room in a clearly agitated manner with demonstrative hand movements while the child remains face down on the mat."
Roughly 30 seconds later, the defendant allegedly moved the boy slightly and then forcefully pushed the child's head into a pillow, according to the affidavit. Eight seconds later, police say video shows she picked the toddler up, put shoes on him, and began to move him to another part of the room.
"While carrying the child across the room, Burke inadvertently knocks another child down with her leg without noticing," the affidavit reads. After placing him back on the floor, she reportedly "pushes the child's head into a pillow from behind" and "stands up and uses her foot to push the child's legs."
Then, about 40 seconds after that, Burke allegedly "grabs the child's ankles and pulls him" a distance roughly equivalent to his body length. She proceeded to grab the child's wrist and bring him toward the rest of the class, police said. "Once Burke reaches the carpet area with the other students seated, she picks the child up completely suspended by his left wrist and swings him forward," according to court documents.
Burke continued to act aggressively with the boy. He was crying, and another worker reportedly tried to "console" him. In another incident that same day, Burke allegedly tried to put a shirt on him and can "be seen attempting to force the shirt over the child's head in a manner aggressive enough to cause the child's head to whip back and forth four times."
According to the preschool director, Burke reported her own actions to an administrator who then sent her home and contacted the school's director. The child's parents and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services were then contacted.
When investigators spoke with Burke on July 28, she apparently "admitted that she was overwhelmed and burnt out at work" that day and "she lost her cool and handled the situation in a very poor way." She added that "she was frustrated that the child was crying about not wanting to go outside" and "agreed that she was too rough."
"She confirmed that the injuries to the child's arms and neck were caused by her grabbing the child out of frustration," according to court documents. Burke is no longer employed by the preschool. "The staff member's conduct represented a serious and unacceptable violation of our standards of care, professional conduct, and the expectations we have for anyone entrusted with the safety of a child," the preschool said in a statement.
Burke is expected back in court on September 3.
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