Madeline Ferguson was sentenced by a Waukesha County judge on Friday, July 19. She received three years probation for each of the two charges against her. The charges were related to a 2022 case of child abuse at a Menomonee Falls daycare.
Ferguson was convicted by a jury in May on two counts of child abuse, specifically for recklessly causing harm.
As per a criminal complaint, an individual referred to as “Victim B” reached out to the Menomonee Falls Police Department on Wednesday, Sept. 21, regarding an incident that occurred at Cadence Academy Preschool on Silver Spring Drive.
The individual mentioned that their young child had been enrolled in Cadence Academy for daycare and experienced an injury to the back of their neck while in their care. According to the complaint, Victim B described the cut as resembling a claw wound. Victim B was informed that the child had been injured “by falling into a garbage can and the staff were uncertain about the exact cause of the incident.”
There were inconsistencies found between the teacher’s account and the video evidence from the classroom, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, on September 21st, an officer examined the video surveillance footage and discovered that the teacher responsible for the child had caused the injury to his neck and shoulder area. As a result, that person has since been terminated from their position.
It was later discovered that the teacher involved in this incident was identified as Ferguson. According to the complaint, it was discovered that the defendant was suspended from employment on September 20 and subsequently terminated on September 21.
A detective examined the surveillance video from the incident, which had a date stamp of Sept. 19, according to the complaint. In the video, Ferguson can be seen as the only teacher in a classroom, taking care of around seven to eight children. One of these children happened to be the preschooler in this particular situation. According to the complaint, law enforcement officers successfully identified and located an additional victim.
Upon being contacted by a detective, Ferguson stated that there were 12 children present in her room on the specific day in question. According to the complaint, there was water spilled in the room. The defendant mentioned that the preschooler became difficult to communicate with and that the children had been instructed not to play with the water multiple times before the spill occurred.
Couple Arrested after Tip Alleges Sexual Abuse at Daycare in Michigan: Authorities
According to the complaint, Ferguson informed the detective that the child started to protest and express her disagreement, which caused her to become upset. According to the complaint, the defendant admitted to getting angry and hitting the child on the back of the head with a water bottle. However, they denied grabbing the child by the neck, only acknowledging grabbing their t-shirt on the right side.