Former daycare worker sentenced for assaulting children at Maryland facility
A former daycare worker was sentenced to 18 months in prison for assaulting three children at the Kiddie Academy of Kent Island in Queen Anne's County, prosecutors said.
Wendy Jones, 58, of Easton, pleaded guilty Aug. 7 to three counts of second-degree assault.
The assaults were captured on the daycare's surveillance footage.
On Sept. 25, a judge imposed three consecutive 10-year sentences, suspending all but six months on each count. Jones will also serve three years of supervised probation and complete 50 hours of community service after her release.
Investigation and arrest
Investigators from the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office received a report on Feb. 20 that a child had been physically assaulted at the daycare.
Police reviewed hours of surveillance footage and found video evidence of Jones committing the assault, the sheriff's office said. Further review uncovered assaults involving two additional children.
All three children were younger than 2, according to police.
Jones was arrested the next day, Feb. 21.
"Parents place their trust in those who care for our most vulnerable, our children," Sheriff Gary Hofmann said. "When that trust is broken, it sends a profound shock through the community."
Similar case in Baltimore County
James Weems, a former Baltimore police officer, was found guilty of sexually abusing a girl at his then-wife's daycare in Owings Mills.
The victim, who was 12 years old as of Nov. 2024, attended Lil Kidz Kastle, the daycare the defendant's ex-wife Shanteari Weems operated in Owings Mills.
Weems drove the van at the daycare and admitted looking at pornography while taking the children to their schools.
He was charged in July 2022, and found guilty of rape, sexual abuse of a minor and showing obscene matter to a minor. In April, he was sentenced to life in prison for the abuse.
