Left to right: Maura Healy, 38, Stephanie Radke, 24, and Mariah Flemister, 20. (Downers Grove Police Department)(DOWNERS GROVE, Ill.) — Police on Wednesday charged three women seen in a video force-feeding infants at a day care center.
Investigators said surveillance footage from Little People Learning Center in Downers Grove, Illinois, showed the employees giving infants solid food, holding their mouths shut and tilting their heads back as they cried.
Police in Downers Grove, about 25 miles west of Chicago, said the abuse occurred on multiple occasions between December 2018 and January 2019.
The suspects — Maura Healy, 38, Stephanie Radke, 24, and Mariah Flemister, 20 — each were charged with battery and endangering the life or health of a child, according to the Downers Grove Police Department.
“During the investigation, video from the daycare center showed each employee, on separate occasions, force-feeding the two infants under their care,” the department said. “The charges were filed following an investigation into the reported mistreatment of two infants.”
The facility, which said it fired the women in January when the abuse allegations surfaced, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
All three suspects were released on bond as of early Thursday and scheduled to appear in court in May. It’s unclear if they’ve retained attorneys.
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