As a parent, when you drop your child off at day care, you’d like to think your little one is continually going to be met with the utmost of care and love from the employees in that line of work because they truly love working with children. Unfortunately, that’s not always going to be the case. A former day care teacher in North Carolina has been charged with felony child abuse after being accused of breaking a child’s leg. The incident took place when she was trying to get the child to sit. She allegedly pulled his leg and he quickly “felt a burn and couldn’t walk.”
A former Raleigh day care center teacher has been charged after allegedly breaking a child’s leg.
According to a warrant from the Wake District Court, 24-year-old Ashley Nicole Taris was charged with felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury on April 7, 2026. The incident happened in August 2025, when Taris allegedly caused an injury to a child’s leg while placing him in a “criss-cross applesauce position,” which resulted in a fracture to his leg, per the warrant, WRAL reported.
The incident took place at KinderCare Day Care Center on Mitchell Mill Road in Raleigh, according to WRAL.
WNCN reported that the prosecutors said in court that “the victim said he was sitting criss cross where he was supposed to be.” Prosecutors added, “The defendant pulled his leg and he said he immediately felt a burn and couldn’t walk.”
That sounds brutal.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services got involved.
According to WNCN, records from North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services show that the KinderCare facility received a violation six days later stemming from an incident that same day.
The report stated, “a staff member pulled a four-year-old child aggressively by the child’s lower leg/ankle, resulting in a fracture to the child’s lower shinbone/ankle,” per WNCN.
According to WRAL, when Taris was interviewed, “she said she was doing donkey kicks and fell on his leg,” but that information is “not consistent with that happening.”
The Wake County assistant district attorney said, “His injury is a spiral fracture of the tibia, which is consistent with what he’s describing it,” WNCN reported.
Taris was fired by KinderCare Day Care and is deemed unqualified to provide child care.
According to a complaint filed in Wake County court, Taris was disqualified in November 2025 by state regulators from providing child care.
KinderCare’s national office provided a statement to WRAL regarding the incident. “At KinderCare, the safety and well-being of the children in our care is always our top priority. Ms. Taris is no longer a KinderCare employee,” the statement reads. “She has not worked in our center since October of 2025. When this incident occurred last summer we followed our safety protocols and immediately notified both the child’s family and the appropriate agencies.”
Taris’ defense attorney said in court that the young woman now works as a housekeeper and has “tremendous family support behind her,” per WNCN. She is being held without bond despite efforts from her lawyer and could be sentenced to more than seven years behind bars if she’s convicted.
Hopefully, the child who was hurt has properly healed and the day care center has gone on to find reputable and caring employees.
