MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — A former staff member of Town & County Early Learning Center in Middletown has been arrested after allegedly throwing a child against the wall, injuring them, and ultimately getting fired.
Video surveillance from the classroom on Jan. 12 showed Kristie Kovarcik, 47, of Haddam, picking up a 2-year-old child by their shirt and throwing them. The child hit their head on the wall as they landed, the arrest warrant said. Investigators observed a red bruise above the victim's right eye.
The day it happened, the day care's director told Middletown police she heard yelling and a loud thud from Kovarcik's classroom. After seeing the assault as it was happening on surveillance footage, the director then went to the classroom to find the victim crying. Kovarcik was then fired, according to the arrest warrant. The victim's guardians were notified of the incident, and they chose to file charges against Kovarcik. The state Department of Children and Families was also notified.
"Upon observing the incident involving Ms. Kovarcik on our internal camera monitoring system, we immediately initiated an internal investigation, notified the appropriate state authorities, and terminated the employee," the day care center said in a statement regarding the reported assault.
The statement from the center continued, "Our safety and training protocols are amongst the strictest in our industry and we treat any such incident with the utmost seriousness. The safety and protection of the children in our care is always our top priority."
Attorney Lance Coughlin, who represents the victim's family, said that there is "a hard drive containing digital video surveillance," which is now in the custody of police. Investigators who obtained the footage saw this was not the first time Kovarcik had allegedly been rough with the children.
Footage obtained from January 2024 showed Kovarcik lifting a child out of a chair by their shirt, dropping them to the ground, and then kicking them, according to the arrest warrant. Later that day, footage showed Kristie pushing down on a child's chest to force them to lie down during nap time.
Investigators also watched surveillance video from a day in November 2023, chosen at random, and saw Kovarcik shoving students in the footage.
When investigators interviewed Kovarcik, she said "I just kind of lost my cool" and that handling the behaviors had been difficult for her. She added that the classroom was "chaotic" and that she felt she did not have the day care's support.
Another staff member was seen in surveillance footage lifting a child from a table and tossing them to the ground; the child fell onto their back and hit their head on the concrete, the arrest warrant states. It is not clear if that staff member will face any charges.
“There is no justification whatsoever for what these children endured and we will see to it that justice is served,” said Coughlin.
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) said in a statement that "we can confirm that we received a report on 1/12 and are conducting a joint investigation with law enforcement. Due to confidentiality laws and this being an active criminal matter, that is all we can say at this time.
Anyone with a reasonable suspicion of child maltreatment is asked by the DCF to reach out to its Child Abuse and Neglect Careline by dialing 1-800-842-2288. The Careline is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Callers to the Careline can choose to remain anonymous.
Kovarcik was arrested on Feb. 26, and was charged with risk of injury to a minor and reckless endangerment. She was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.