NJ Daycare Worker Charged With Child Abuse Released For 2nd Time

NEW JERSEY - A South Jersey woman has reportedly been released from jail for a second time despite increasing allegations of child abuse against her.

A state judge ruled that he is bound by a previous judge’s ruling that released Maggie Fruit, 21 of Somerdale, who is facing assault charges against at least seven children at a South Jersey daycare where she was employed, the Courier Post reports.

Fruit was initially arrested in July after authorities said she assaulted a 1-year-old child while she was employed at a daycare in Lindenwold. In that incident, she was charged with first-degree attempted murder and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Read more here: NJ Daycare Worker Charged With Attempted Murder Of 1-Year-Old

Fruit was released on pre-trial monitoring over the State's objection at her detention hearing one week later.

In September, she was arrested after detectives said they determined she had assaulted at least six more children at the daycare. Fruit was additionally charged with nine counts of aggravated assault, eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child and four counts of criminal restraint. Read more here: NJ Daycare Worker Accused Of Abusing 7 Children

Although Fruit appeared before a different judge last week, that judge ruled there was no additional evidence to overturn the initial judge’s ruling that Fruit posed no danger to the public and was not a flight risk, according to the report.

Fruit is now living in another state after her initial release drew the ire of the community. Members of the community gathered across the street from her home in protest a week after she was released, according to 6 ABC. A group of police officers had to stand outside her home to protect her.

At the same time, detectives from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office and the Lindenwold Police Department continued reviewing all available surveillance footage for the time period before the initial incident, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

During their investigation, they discovered that Fruit, who had been working at the daycare for a short time, had abused six more children that were under her care, authorities said. All children in her classroom were 1-year-old.