A Lindale daycare worker is accused of assaulting six young children 134 times over several months.
Catherine Guziejka, 44, of Lindale, has been held in the Smith County Jail since Oct. 30 on six counts of injury to a child. According to an arrest affidavit, she was caught in security footage kicking toddlers in her care in over 100 incidents dating back to July.
According to the arrest report, the investigation into Guziejka began when a coworker at Punkin’ Doodles Day Care in Lindale performed a review of surveillance footage. The document says the woman saw Guziejka on video kicking a 2-year-old boy in the small of his back. The worker reported the incident to the boy’s father, who contacted the Smith County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 23.
A deputy began reviewing the footage at the daycare, and the arrest reports document numerous incidents of very similar nature. In each, Guziejka delivers a swift kick to the lower back of a 2-year-old child, who then cries out in pain and clutches at the stricken area, the documents say.
According to the affidavit, more than 100 incidents of this nature involving six toddlers were found in the surveillance footage, with the first taking place in July.
Due to the evidence gathered at the daycare, an arrest warrant was signed on Oct. 30, and Guziejka was booked into the Smith County Jail. She remains incarcerated at the time of reporting.
KLTV spoke with Melanie Dawn Law, the owner of Punkin’ Doodles Day Care, who says they have been working with law enforcement on the investigation since it first came to light on Oct. 23.
Law said she fired Guziejka that day and immediately reported the abuse to CPS and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office as state law mandates. According to Law, Guziejka was initially arrested on two counts of injuring a child, and the other four were added later.
Law says the total number of incidents found in the footage was 134.
Guziejka was hired in September of last year, Law said, and she passed all background checks and had the required training and qualifications.
Law says she has sold the day care, and it will be renamed and reopened in December.
The Department of Family and Protective Services has confirmed they are investigating the incidents to determine whether abuse occurred. They say the results will be handed over to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission once the investigation is complete.
