A Lansdale woman is facing child endangerment charges after she allegedly picked up a 3-year-old child by the arm and forcibly tossed them onto a cot while working as a staff member at Kiddie Academy in Harleysville.
Melanda Tyler, 21, has been charged with one felony count of endangering the welfare of children, along with a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary charge of harassment, in connection with the investigation by the Lower Salford Township Police Department.
Investigators received a classified ChildLine referral in April regarding an incident that allegedly occurred on March 22 at the Harleysville Kiddie Academy, located at 160 Clemens Road in Lower Salford Township. The referral stated that Tyler — who was working as a childcare provider at the facility — grabbed the child by the arm at 12:45 p.m., lifted them off the ground, then “forcibly sat the child down on the cot,” according to charging documents.
Police said the entire incident was witnessed by the child’s mother, who was watching the livestream of the classroom from her home.
In May, investigators received a copy of surveillance footage of the incident, which corroborated the details of the ChildLine referral, police said. In the video, Tyler was allegedly seen picking up the child two feet off the ground by their arm, then walking them to their cot and throwing them onto the cot. The throw was performed with such force that the child rolled off the cot and landed on the floor on their back, police said.
The child began to crawl back onto the cot, at which point Tyler allegedly picked them up a second time by the arm and forcibly pushed them back onto the cot. Tyler then walked away without turning back to see what the child was doing, police said.
When reached for comment, Harleysville Kiddie Academy owner Sean Thomas told North Penn Now that within minutes of the alleged incident occurring, the facility terminated Tyler’s employment.
On March 22, a staff member was observed handling a preschool child in an unacceptable manner. Upon learning of the incident, we immediately terminated the staff member’s employment as this behavior is not tolerated at our academy. Fortunately, the child sustained no injuries, and the incident was reported to licensing authorities and Child Protective Services.
We are a local, family-owned independent business and parents ourselves, who care deeply about the children in our care and our community. There is nothing more important than creating a nurturing and safe environment for the children in our care, and their families – it is our life’s commitment.
Our team is dedicated to sound leadership decisions, swiftly addressing concerns, aligning with local licensing bodies, and ensuring that the trust of each family is earned and maintained. We will continue to fully cooperate with local authorities during any further investigation of this matter.
Kiddie Academy of Harleysville is an independently owned and operated franchise location.
Tyler was officially charged on June 15, and she was arraigned five days later by District Judge Patrick Krouse, who set bail at $10,000 unsecured. Her next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on July 18 at 1 p.m. in front of District Judge Albert Augustine.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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