Court date set for day-care owner

A Carson City day-care owner accused of child abuse will be arraigned July 11 in district court.

Norma Childers, 54, is charged with four felony counts and one gross misdemeanor count of abuse, neglect or endangerment, stemming from allegations she placed tape over the mouths of three children and locked others in a utility closet in her care at Sugar N Spice Day Care.

The center was closed April 14 by the health department because Childers allegedly misrepresented information on the application for a license.

According to the criminal complaint, Childers allegedly taped shut the mouths of a 3-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy before they were put down for a nap on Aug. 19.

The allegations came about after an employee at the facility reported the incident to the Carson City Health Department. The employee, who said she'd worked at the center since July, reportedly told investigators she witnessed Childers place purple tape over the children's mouths when Childers became upset over noise the children were making.

In 2000, Childers and her husband, Michael, were acquitted by a jury on felony abuse and neglect charges at Nevada Cares, a nursing home they owned in Carson City.

That same year in California, the couple signed a stipulation regarding 75 allegations of wrongdoing in an elder-care facility they owned there. The stipulation admitted to failure to provide adequate care to their clients, under-skilled staff, failure to report injuries and violation of personal rights of clients, among other things.

As part of the agreement, a criminal case was dropped, and the Childerses agreed to not run another such facility in the state for 10 years.

n Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.