(The Lion) — A Texas daycare worker has been arrested and charged with abusing at least six toddlers over 100 times, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office reports.
Catherine Guziejka, 44, was arrested on Oct. 30 and reportedly remains in custody at the county jail. She was charged with six counts of injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury.
Authorities say their investigation began when the father of an alleged victim was alerted by another staffer who saw evidence of his child being abused on the daycare’s security footage.
The sheriff’s affidavit indicates that footage shows Guziejka kicking six toddlers on 134 separate occasions between July and October at Punkin’ Doodles daycare in Lindale, Texas, which is 90 miles from Dallas.
The affidavit paints a grim picture of a sadistic daycare worker who, authorities say, was intentionally trying to inflict damage on unsuspecting children.
Deputies specifically noted Guziejka’s actions appeared random, intentional, unprovoked, violent in nature and done for the sole intent of inflicting pain by kicking them from behind as they watched TV.
In one incident, she allegedly kicked a 2-year-old boy in his back while he was lying on the floor. The victims were all two years old, and at least 21 separate incidents were observed.
Law enforcement also noted none of the children appeared to be misbehaving and Guziejka was never seen trying to soothe them afterward.
Officials say the footage shows her stalking the children and aggressively adjusting or moving them during naptime. Some were yanked from their beds and dragged by one arm to a changing station where she forcefully pushed the children’s heads down to face the wall if they attempted to watch TV while she changed their diapers.
Another allegation says she even stepped on, or stood on, some of the children’s hands in what appeared to be a warped form of punishment. In one instance, deputies say the video showed her standing on one child’s left hand for seven seconds as the child attempted to free themselves from the torture.
Punkin’ Doodles Daycare is now reportedly under new ownership.
According to the affidavit, the daycare’s former owner, Melanie Law, told law enforcement Guziejka had been assaulting the children since July. She also said she had reviewed 100 separate incidents of the six children who suffered the assaults and agreed to provide all available video to the sheriff’s office.
Law told CBS 19 she fired Guziejka the very day she learned of the abuses and immediately called authorities, including the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate.
DFPS has since reportedly banned Guziejka from working in any hospital, daycare, nursing home or any other facility caring for vulnerable people.
