Former Middletown Daycare Worker Accused Of Roughing Up Toddler Sentenced

MIDDLETOWN, CT — A former daycare staffer accused of roughing up a toddler more than a year ago has been sentenced on three charges.

Kristie Ann Kovarcik, of Haddam, Thursday was given an eight-year prison sentence — suspended after two — for risk of injury to a child, a felony. She was also sentenced to six months in prison for each of her three second-degree reckless endangerment charges. She had entered guilty pleas in July to each charge, according to judicial system records.

She was also given five years of probation, judicial system records show.

The case dates back to Jan. 12, 2024, when the Middletown Police Special Investigations Unit received a complaint that a 2-year-old child was "assaulted" by a teacher at the Town & Country Early Learning Center on South Main Street, according to a news release.

Officials at the facility notified the child's family of the assault and allowed family members to watch surveillance video of the incident, police said. The family then came to police headquarters and requested that the teacher be arrested, according to a news release.

The teacher was later identified as Kovarcik, according to a news release.

During the investigation, detectives, via the surveillance video, confirmed that Kovarcik picked up the child and "tossed" the child to the side of her. The child's head struck a nearby wall, which led to a minor contusion above the right eye, according to a news release.

She was also accused of "mishandling" other 2-year-olds under their care, police said in an incident report.

The daycare's director heard a commotion, pulled up the surveillance camera for Kovarcik's room and witnessed the sequence, police said. The director then entered the room, removed the child and reported the incident to the parents and to the state Department of Children and Families, as required, according to a news release.

Kovarcik was dismissed from the job, according to case records.