A Fishers, Indiana, daycare worker was arrested on Tuesday and faces multiple counts of felony battery after allegedly inappropriately touching children in her care, police said.
The Fishers Police Department said it launched an investigation after the parent of a child enrolled at the Kiddie Academy Daycare on Olio Road reported that her daughter returned home with a handprint bruise on her leg.
Molly Taxter booking photo (Hamilton County Jail)
The parent told police she contacted the daycare facility immediately and met with the owner. The parent and the owner watched a video of the child’s classroom, police said, which showed an employee inappropriately touching the child.
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The owner of the facility fired the employee, Molly C. Taxter, 23, of Noblesville that day, and on Tuesday, police arrested her without incident.
She was taken to the Hamilton County Jail and bond was set at $150,000.
Fishers prosecutors did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking additional information about the case on Tuesday.
Flashing lights on top of police patrol car (iStock)
FOX 59 in Indianapolis reported that Taxter faces 19 counts of felony battery.
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The station also obtained the probable cause affidavit, which said video captured from the daycare room showed Taxter “shoving [the victim’s] head into the changing table, slamming her down, as well as covering her face with a blanket.”
The court documents said when the parent and the daycare facility owner were watching the video, Taxter walked in and became “visibly upset,” as her voice changed, and she began to shake.
Taxter allegedly told the owner and parent that she was agitated and frustrated because the girl cries a lot.
An employee at the Kiddie Academy Daycare on Olio Road in Fishers, Indiana was arrested after allegedly battering multiple children. (Google Maps)
Taxter told police she became aggressive and was burned out after working with children for six years, adding that “she should not be working with kids” and that March 15 was a “bad day.”
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She also admitted to police she gripped the child “really hard” because she does not like diaper changes, FOX 59 reported, and that the girl was “fighting for her life” at the time of the diaper change.
Investigators viewed video taken from March 6 through March 15. In the video, police said, Taxter was aggressive with multiple children.
In some instances, she allegedly dragged the children by their arms, handled them roughly, threw them to the ground and pushed them.
According to court documents, a co-worker witnessed the behavior and even participated by putting them in time out and covering their heads with blankets – both behaviors the daycare does not.
The co-worker told police she reported Taxter’s actions but could not remember to whom, and that one time Taxter cornered her and said, “You better not be telling anyone what I am doing here,” FOX 59 reported of the court documents.
Court documents describe the actions of Taxter that were recorded in more detail. On March 13, she shoved the back of a boy’s head and caused him to fall. Before reaching to pick him back up, she kicked him in the back, police said.
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On the same day, Taxter grabbed the child from the initial complaint in an aggressive manner and threw her to the floor.
On March 15, Taxter walked over to the same girl, who was sleeping in a cot, and kicked it multiple times, leaned over, and struck the girl at least 10 times, court documents state.
Taxter than hit the girl on the back, picked her up, carried her to the diaper changing table, slammed her down with one hand, and grabbed her leg in the same spot the parent saw bruising, police said.
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Detectives have identified several victims but believe there may be others. Parents whose children attended the Kiddie Academy Daycare in Fishers from January 2023 through March 16 are encouraged to contact Fishers Police Department detectives at 317-595-3300, if they believe their children were abused.
