Allegations of child abuse have been made against the director of a daycare facility in McCandless.
A woman named Melissa Populo, 38, from McKees Rocks, is currently facing charges related to the reported abuse of multiple children at the Gloworms Academy in McCandless Township. The details of the case were revealed in court documents.
According to McCandless Police, an employee at the daycare facility reported the alleged abuse earlier this year. An employee reported to the police that they were monitoring video footage from the classrooms when they observed an incident involving Populo and a 14-month-old child. According to the employee, the child was struck in the face by Populo for refusing to eat.
Following the report, McCandless Police initiated an investigation into the alleged abuse.
When questioned about the incident brought up by the employee, Populo firmly denied the allegations, emphasizing that she would never harm a child. She also made it clear that throughout her time at Gloworms Academy, she has never engaged in any form of physical discipline towards any child.
According to the police, a staff member from the daycare has informed investigators about multiple incidents of child abuse involving Populo. The staff member claims to have witnessed some of these incidents personally, while others were reported to them by others.
Multiple instances of abuse were captured on camera, involving different forms of mistreatment such as slapping a child’s face, forcefully grabbing their arm, forcefully feeding them, and dragging them by the arm.
Populo is being charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of children due to the alleged incidents that were recorded on camera. She has been terminated from her position at the center.
Populo appeared before a judge for arraignment on Wednesday morning. Additionally, she was instructed to refrain from interacting with any individuals under the age of 18, with the exception of her own children.
As reported by CBS News, Populo has a court date scheduled for later this month.
Daycare Employee Rot in Jail for 10 months after Alleged Abuse at Daycare Facility in North Carolina