Concerns are rising among Bainbridge families after a Little Blessings Daycare employee received child abuse charges and an agency temporarily shut the facility to investigate.
DECAL issued a 21-day emergency closure for Little Blessings, so they can interview staff, families, and medical professionals and determine next steps. Despite earning Quality Rated approval in 2023, state inspections in 2024 and 2025 cited missing CPR/first aid certifications, incomplete staff training, and supervision violations. The accused employee faces multiple child abuse charges; the case will go to grand jury in November, with a trial expected next year.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Parents in Bainbridge are still reeling after a former employee at Little Blessings Daycare was charged with multiple counts of child abuse.
“I think it definitely caused the community as a whole to feel a sense of uneasiness and, you know, distrust in the generation that is raising our children,” said a Bainbridge neighbor I met at a nearby park.
And although Little Blessings earned Quality Rated approval in 2023, state records show the daycare has failed to meet requirements in its last three inspections in 2024 and 2025.
The most recent March report cited the center for missing CPR and first aid certifications, incomplete staff training, and supervision violations, including one incident where an employee was left alone with 17 2-year-olds.
Since the allegations came to light, DECAL has launched a full investigation, talking with the family, teachers, medical professionals, and anyone who can provide useful information.
And now a notice on the daycare’s door informs the public that the facility is closed for 21 days while the investigation continues.
“This is completely unacceptable what happened. And if they don’t take it as serious as it needs to be, they shouldn’t reopen. But if they are willing to make a massive change in hiring and certain employee practices, they need to figure out some better employee practice to put hope back in the community’s trust in this business because it’s been burned to the ground,” said the Bainbridge neighor.
As for the trial, I spoke with Joe Mulholland from the DA’s office to get a better idea of what comes next.
“So I met with the family last week, and so discussed it with them, and I feel pretty confident that we’re going to present the case in November, which is our next scheduled grand jury for Decatur County. And then typically what happens is you’ve got arraignment a month after grand jury, and then you have pre-trials a month after that, and then you’ve got this status conference and trial,” said Mullholland.
Mulholland says the trial could happen sometime between January and February next year, or at the latest in early fall.
His office hasn’t received the full case file yet. Mulholland says once they do, he’ll personally review it to determine if additional charges should be added and what the defendant could be facing.
“So in this case, I’ll be looking at the cases. Anywhere from 1 to 8 years is what we’re looking at right now, based on the charges if they don’t merge. But I’ll have to look at those once I get the file and review it,” said Mullholland.
As for the threats made to the judge in this case, Mulholland says those are now under investigation by law enforcement.
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