Honk News (Louisville, KY) – A former daycare worker from Norton Commons received her sentencing on Friday.
Racheal Flannery admitted guilt last year to 10 charges of second-degree child abuse.
She previously held a position at Vanguard Academy located in Norton Commons. Authorities took her into custody in 2022 after footage revealed her “aggressively managing” children at the daycare.
The child was merely 6 months old. A child has been transported to Norton Children’s Hospital for medical care.
During the court proceedings, victims shared their impact statements, with Hayley Russell, the first mother, recounting the abuse her son Luke endured at the hands of Flannery.
“As reported by Detective Bridget Christiansen in her review of the video footage, she appears to look up from her phone to Luke and then forcefully shoves the bottle against his face into his mouth three times,” Russell said. “She then pulls his head closer to her chest and quickly covers his face and head with her other arm, and rotates him so that his face is held tightly against her chest. Luke is then observed to cry and kick when the teacher attempts to put the bottle back into his mouth, which he backs away with his hand a few times.”
Russell pointed out that in the past two years, Flannery has been active on social media, enjoying outings with friends and attending concerts, indicating a lack of remorse for her actions.
“Miss Flannery’s actions hurt so many. We have not recovered. We have missed work, lost many hours of sleep, paid many medical bills and fought for safe child care for our children,” Russell said. “Because Miss Flannery chose day after day to abuse children, Luke did nothing to deserve what he endured as he was being abused by Miss Flannery.”
A judge has handed down a 7-year prison sentence to Flannery.