Multiple child abuse allegations have been brought against the director of a daycare center in McCandless.
As to the court documents, Melissa Populo, 38, from McKees Rocks, is accused of abusing at least five children at the Gloworms Academy, which is situated on Harmony Drive in McCandless Township.
An staffer at the daycare center reportedly informed McCandless Police about the alleged mistreatment earlier this year. The staff member said to the authorities that when they were watching classroom footage, they saw Populo strike a 14-month-old child in the face for not eating.
The McCandless Police then started looking into the claims of abuse.
In response to questions on the incident that the worker had reported, Populo refuted the claims, stating that she would never strike a child and that she had not struck any while employed at Gloworms Academy.
According to the police, a daycare employee informed detectives that they knew of other instances of Populo harming children that they either witnessed firsthand or learned about from other people.
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A number of these cases included other forms of abuse that were captured on video, such as pushing food into a child’s mouth, dragging a child by the arm, and hitting a youngster in the face with an open hand.
Five charges of jeopardizing the welfare of children are being brought against Populo in connection with the purported events that were captured on camera.
Populo is scheduled to appear before a judge for his arraignment this morning at 9:00 a.m., per court documents.
