A Madison woman is accused of shoving a 4-year-old child to the ground while she was working at a Scottdale day care center, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney.
Krista Ondish, 58, is accused by Scottdale police of assaulting the child on Sept. 5 at the New Hope Childcare Center and Preschool at 235 Pittsburgh St., where she was working.
Police charged Ondish with a felony count of aggravated assault of a victim less than 6 years old and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
Ondish was arraigned Sunday before North Huntingdon District Judge Henry Moore and was placed in the Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bond. She was released Monday after posting the bond, according to the state judicial system website.
Ondish could not be reached for comment. An attorney is not listed in court papers. Scottdale police could not be reached for comment.
New Hope Childcare director Vera Stevens said Ondish was dismissed after she learned about the incident.
Stevens showed the child’s mother a video of the incident, in which the day care worker could be seen pinning the child in a corner, allowing another child to hit the child, and shoving the victim to the ground, according to police.
Another employee who witnessed the incident provided a statement to the day care and said a teacher in another room heard the child hitting the ground.
The child’s mother was upset that police were not called about the incident, and the incident was not reported to ChildLine, according to the district attorney.
ChildLine is part of a mandated child protective services program designed to accept child abuse referrals and general child well-being concerns.
The child’s mother said her child no longer attends the day care.
“It was an isolated, unfortunate incident. I’m trying to be here for the children,” Stevens said Monday.