Texas Daycare Worker Pleads Guilty to Abusing Toddlers More Than 100 Times

TYLER, TX – A 45-year-old former daycare worker from Lindale pleaded guilty to several counts of intentionally injuring a child earlier in September, following an investigation that revealed the daycare worker had physically assaulted six different toddlers over 100 times throughout 2024.

On October 23rd, 2024, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office received a report from a local parent out of Lindale regarding his two-year-old son being kicked in the small of his back at Punkin’ Doodles Day Care. The child’s father had learned about the physical assault after an employee of the daycare reached out to him with video evidence of the incident.

Authorities learned that daycare employee Catherine Elizabeth Guziejka was the individual behind the attack, which led to a more in-depth investigation into the employee, where investigators learned of five other toddler-aged victims alongside the original, who were collectively assaulted 134 different times between July and October of that year.

Video surveillance obtained by law enforcement from the daycare where Guziejka worked showed the suspect reportedly kicking toddlers routinely, manhandling them by way of dragging them forcefully by their arms, and in other instances standing on some of the toddlers’ hands. Luckily, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith confirmed none of the victims suffered any severe injuries while under Guziejka’s watch.

While Guziejka was immediately terminated from the daycare following the discovery of the October incident, which kicked off the investigation, the loss of her job paled in comparison to the legal ramifications that unfolded.

A jury trial for Guziejka was slated to begin on September 16th, but it seems that the overwhelming evidence in the case motivated the former daycare worker to accept a plea deal, leading to her pleading guilty to six counts of injury to a child with intentional bodily injury while appearing before 475th District Court Judge Taylor Heaton earlier in September. Matt Bingham, Guziejka’s attorney, is asking for a 10-year sentence for each count, with all six counts running concurrently. Guziejka is scheduled to be sentenced on November 12th.

Considering the notoriety Guziejka’s case brought upon Punkin' Doodles Day Care, former owner Melanie Dawn Law reportedly sold the facility to another individual who plans to reopen under a different name this upcoming December.