A Waukesha Lawrence School staff member has been charged with abusing a child who has special needs

WAUKESHA - A 48-year-old teacher at The Lawrence School will face two felony counts tied to child abuse allegations at the Waukesha day care center.

Heather Miller was charged Thursday with child abuse - intentionally causing bodily harm and second-degree recklessly endangering safety at the Saylesville Road facility, the subject of a police investigation that included an hours-long process Wednesday to vacate the school of children.

Miller was arrested Wednesday and taken to the Waukesha County Jail pending charges. She is being held on $6,000 cash bail, with her first appearance set for Monday in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday:

Miller was employed at the school as a lead teacher in one of the infant rooms when a young child, identified only as Victim A, became the subject of child abuse allegations on Aug. 17.

Teacher reportedly witnessed abuse

Another teacher also working in the room reportedly overheard Miller telling the child, who has special needs that cause feeding problems, how "disgusting" he was.

The teacher was able to witness firsthand what happened later that same day during nap time. After she screened the crib in such a way to keep it out of the line of sight of a ceiling surveillance camera, Miller allegedly slammed the boy, who had been standing in his crib, face first into the bed of the crib, then pushed down on the crying child for about 30 seconds until he began to wheeze.

Fearful for the child's safety, the teacher ran out of the room to report the incident to the facility's director and assistant director.

For the remainder of that day, the teacher took it upon herself to hold the boy, who now seemed unusually lethargic, and ignored the admonishments of Miller, who reportedly told her the child needed to sleep longer and that she shouldn't rub his back. The teacher stayed with the boy until Miller's shift ended.

Administrators did not respond properly, complaint says

Though the complaint did not focus on potential charges against any other Lawrence School staff, it included some serious allegations about the administrators' lack of response.

Neither administrator went to the room to investigate the reporting teacher's claims, instead relying on surveillance images.

After filing a written statement about the incident with the administration, the teacher said nothing was done to change the child's care. Miller remained in the room and the other teacher was excluded from helping care for the boy.

Administrators rebuffed the teacher's concerns and said Miller would remain employed there, the complaint said.

On Aug. 25, the teacher told the boy's mother that her child was not safe. The mother forced administrators to change his room assignment.

A separate unannounced visit by a state licensing specialist on Sept. 2 delved into the allegations. But, according to the complaint, owner Jim Hoeft reportedly told the specialist he had no knowledge of the allegations, and the two administrators denied any teacher had approached them with concerns.

Allegations prompt police investigation

The family noticed problems after the alleged Aug. 17 incident, and the signs — continued lethargic behavior, vomiting, constant crying and general unwellness — were enough for his mother to speak with police on Aug. 29.

That's when the external investigation was launched.

A detective suggested that the boy be examined by a doctor at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The resulting report indicated that, while there were no current injuries, the child showed signs of previous injuries that had healed, though those injuries were not attributed to Miller.

The doctor also validated concerns that if the child's head had been pushed into the mattress, it would have caused suffocation to the point of death.

As a result of their preliminary investigation, police conducted a search warrant at the school on Sept. 14. Miller denied the allegations, stating that she had comforted the boy in his crib on Aug. 17 after she heard him crying.

If she is convicted, Miller could face substantial prison time. The maximum penalty for second-degree reckless endangerment is 10 years and a $25,000 fine. For child abuse, it's six years and a $10,000 fine.

As part of the investigation Wednesday, Waukesha police indicated that three other staff members at the facility could face charges of failing to protect a child. The status of those charges, which have been referred to the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, wasn't clear as of Thursday afternoon.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Lawrence School teacher charged with child abuse at Waukesha day care