Daycare worker accused of assaulting 1-year-old girl found competent to stand trial
A former daycare worker accused of assaulting a 1-year-old girl in her care was found competent to stand trial on Thursday, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.
The ruling comes less than six months after Kristian Hemmitt, 28, was ordered to mental health treatment, court records show.
According to prosecutors, Hemmitt, who worked at Small Kids Adventures Learning Center on Glenway Avenue, assaulted the toddler in March.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters has said Hemmitt grabbed the 1-year-old girl by the hair, lifted her off the ground and then dragged her across the room. While still clutching the girl's hair, Deters said, Hemmitt jerked the girl back and forth, ripping hair from her scalp.
Deters said Hemmitt tried covering up the toddler’s bald spots and threw the hair away in a trash can. She's facing charges of felonious assault, child endangering and tampering with evidence.
Hemmitt was found incompetent to stand trial in June, according to documents filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. She was ordered to undergo treatment at Summit Behavioral Healthcare before being reevaluated.
Small Kids Adventures Learning Center was notified earlier this year of the state's intention to revoke its license, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The agency issued a suspension order in March, requiring the center to close pending a final determination of its license.
Officials allege the center has violated numerous provisions of the state administrative code, according to a license revocation notice sent to the center. Among those violations, state officials say, the center didn't notify public children services agency officials of suspected child abuse or neglect.
The center closed following an administrative hearing process to determine whether it could keep its license, a spokesperson for the department confirmed on Friday.
In its notice, the department noted other incidents of alleged mistreatment by the daycare's staff.
State officials, citing a March 29 complaint inspection, say a staff member confined a child to a "feeding table" for at least four hours.
The incident was captured on video, according to the revocation notice.
State officials also found that food was taken from a child while other children were allowed to continue eating, the notice states. The footage shows the child being confined to a bed and highchair for "extended periods of time," the notice states.
The notice does not identify the staff member nor does it say when the incident occurred.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Daycare worker accused of assaulting toddler found competent to stand trial
