Two women charged with child abuse at Blaine daycare

Two caregivers at the Small World Day Care Learning Center in Blaine have been charged with child abuse after the parents of a 5-month-old baby took their child to the hospital last week with unexplained bruising. Authorities are calling it an “exceptionally shocking” incident of child abuse that ultimately affected at least two other children.

Elizabeth Augusta Wiemerslage, 23, of Coon Rapids, and Chloe Kaye Johnson, 31, of Blaine, were both charged with child abuse, according to a press release from Blaine Police Department Capt. Mark Boerboom.

“While we are compelled to investigate other horrific cases of child abuse, this case is particularly shocking,” he wrote in the press release. “Most parents bring their children to daycare centers with the belief that their child will be safe, especially since there is usually more than one caregiver watching their child at a time. In this case, we encountered two employees who worked with infants, both of whom were aggressively abusing children.”

The press release contained the following details about the incident:

On July 16, police received a report of possible abuse after the parents brought the baby to Minneapolis Children’s Hospital with unexplained bruising that occurred while the child was in daycare.

According to authorities, the child care workers initially told investigators that the bruises may have been caused by a baby swing. But when investigators looked at surveillance footage, they saw that the child had been abused and the two women were arrested, Boerboom’s statement said.

After reviewing the video, police identified two other victims and contacted their parents, the press release said.

Authorities allege the video shows Johnson grabbing a baby by her lower body and “violently” turning the child onto her back. Authorities allege the baby’s face was repeatedly slammed into the carpet during the incident, and that Wiemerslage was present when Johnson did it.

In another video, authorities allege Johnson picked up a second baby and held a cloth over the baby’s mouth and nose for several seconds while the child cried. Then, police say, she allegedly grabbed the child by the neck and repeatedly forced a bottle in and out of the child’s mouth. Later in the same video, authorities allege Wiemerslage picked up the same child and allegedly placed her on a support pillow. At another point, police say Wiemerslage picked up a third baby and “aggressively” pushed the child onto a changing table.

Medical examination revealed that the first child had bruises in nine places and that the third child had old leg fractures that may have occurred two weeks earlier.

The daycare is working with investigators as investigators review additional video footage. Families have been contacted and told to have their child examined and to call police if they see any unexplained injuries.

The women were each charged with one count of felony malicious punishment of a child; third-degree assault on a victim under the age of four; and two gross misdemeanor counts of malicious punishment of a child. The two women were also released on $75,000 bail.