ADA COUNTY, ID - An 18-year-old daycare worker is accused of violently abusing the babies with one five-month-old suffering broken bones and brain damage. The little baby endured "35 seconds of straight shaking," according to prosecutors.
Maria Ackerman, a former daycare worker at New Horizon Academy in Boise, is facing four felony counts of injury to a child after investigators allegedly uncovered evidence of "aggressive" interactions with four infants, Law & Crime reported.
"This horrific abuse was all caught on film," said Ada County prosecutor Joshua Haws during Maria Ackerman's arraignment Friday. "The defendant is lucky that I don't believe this is going to turn into a murder," Haws told the court. "While we are looking at [the victim's] injuries, we don't believe he is going to die."
On October 27, 2026, Boise Police Special Victims Unit detectives received a referral from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare for a report concerning an injury to a child. "The reported incident occurred on October 26, 2026, at New Horizon Academy located at 155 E Boise Ave. and the suspect was identified as Maria "Mia" Ackerman. The victim, an infant child, received non-life-threatening injuries," according to a police press release.
During the investigation, evidence reportedly showed that Ackerman's actions "could have caused great bodily harm or death." Police notified the parents of the three additional victims, who are seeking medical attention, according to the press release. An update on injuries was not available at the time of Ackermann's arraignment.
Haws told the court that Ackerman restricted an infant's breathing, slammed a baby's head against a changing table and repeatedly punched an infant with open and closed fists. He also described incidents in which she allegedly seized babies by their faces or heads, squeezed them around the neck, tossed an infant into a cushioned area and swung a child around by the neck.
Haws said "the worst of it" involved a five-month-old. "The whole shaking incident lasted over a minute," Haws recounted. "She picked him up by his neck, she sort of suffocated him by placing his face to her chest and then, squeezing tightly, swung him around by his neck, so his back was to her chest and squeezed him again."
One baby that Ackerman was supposed to be watching was allegedly left unattended after falling from a changing table. Rather than examining the child for injuries, she allegedly placed the infant back in a sitting position and walked away, police and prosecutors said.
The five-month-old's injuries included a fractured rib, a broken tibia and brain damage associated with lack of oxygen. Thankfully, the infant is expected to survive.
New Horizon Academy said its staff saw Ackerman engage in what the facility described as an "aggressive interaction with a child" and reported the incident to police and state licensing agencies, along with contacting families. The daycare said it fired Ackerman and removed her from the school immediately.
"Every child deserves gentle, attentive care," according to New Horizon. "This behavior is unacceptable." Ackerman had been employed at the center since March or April. She was arrested on Thursday, October 29 and booked into the Ada County Jail. Her bond has been set at $1 million.
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