GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former teacher at a childcare center in Grand Rapids has been arrested and charged with child abuse.
13 ON YOUR SIDE was the first to report the Grand Rapids Police Department, Child Protective Services (CPS) and LARA were investigating allegations of child neglect that occurred at Little Lights Childcare Center on Sibley Street last year.
Karen Hornecker, 62, is charged with child abuse in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor offense. For the first offense, the charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.
Hornecker appeared in court on Monday and entered a not guilty plea in the case.
13 ON YOUR SIDE caught up with the mother who filed the police report for child neglect against Hornecker in early December. Danielle Richards of Grand Rapids said the charge is a good first step toward getting justice for her young son.
"It's targeting one of the points that we wanted, which was that she wouldn't be able to work with other kids to be able to do anything with what happened to my son," Richards said.
She claims Hornecker dislocated her 3-year-old son Caleb's arm at the preschool back in October and then lied about doing so.
"It came about when they had to call me after they had an ice pack on his dislocated arm for two hours," Richards said. "They called me and told me he was tussling with another student and shortly after he fell on the floor and started crying and she didn't know why."
An arrest warrant was issued for Hornecker on Jan. 25.
A spokesperson for GRPD said CPS was notified after the charge was filed and that the agency will then notify LARA.
"I want to make sure everyone's held accountable," Richards said.
She's considering filing a civil suit against the childcare center because she claims they were knowledgeable of the alleged abuse and didn't report it to the proper authorities.
"To make sure that even with childcare centers that they're not as lenient on hiring of certain teachers," she said. "To make sure we have the safety of kids at heart when we're selecting those teachers that are helping raise our kids."
Hornecker is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Richards did file another police report against a different teacher at the center last year. A spokesperson for GRPD said that case didn't rise to criminality.
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