An Idaho couple is facing child abuse charges after allegedly injuring a 7-year-old girl repeatedly during an outing to a local aquarium. Megan Olpin and her husband, Zachary Olpin, took their daughter out for the day, but it was anything but a fun time for the child. The couple is accused of continuously physically abusing the girl in plain sight of other aquarium visitors the entire time they were there. The abuse was severe enough that people felt compelled to film it as evidence for a possible police investigation. After viewing the footage themselves, authorities agree the couple needs to face consequences.
All of the abuse was caught on camera.
The incident took place on February 8, 2026, at the East Idaho Aquarium in Idaho Falls, according to court documents obtained by East Idaho News. Detectives from the Idaho Falls Police Department viewed security camera footage from the aquarium that showed just what the girl endured.
According to the Idaho State Journal, bystanders at the aquarium also filmed the abuse on their phones.
In the footage, 31-year-old Megan Olpin can be seen hitting the girl in the face multiple times with a shoe. She also knocks her to the ground, and was captured dragging the girl around. According to court records, she also scratched the girl’s arm with a key.
Additional footage shows Zachary Olpin pushing the girl down by the mouth before carrying her out of the aquarium, the Journal reported. Outside, he was caught hitting her head against a wooden structure before using his shoulder to force her head into a metal electrical box.
At first, only Megan Olpin was honest about what she did.
Surveillance video shows the parents beating a 7-year-old child with a shoe and slamming her head against an electrical box at the East Idaho Aquarium. https://t.co/mZzjBmG8C5
— East Idaho News (@EastIDNews) March 13, 2026
When speaking with police, Zachary Olpin said hitting the girl’s head multiple times was an accident. He claimed to not even know she was injured. Megan Olpin, however, admitted to the abuse, saying she hit the girl with the shoe and a set of car keys, per the Journal.
After police got better security camera footage, they re-interviewed the pair on February 12, East Idaho News reported. Once he was confronted with the footage, Zachary Olpin, 30, admitted what he did was wrong, and he wrote an apology letter. His wife also expressed regret and wrote a letter.
Megan Olpin has been charged with felony aggravated battery, felony injury to a child and misdemeanor injury of a child. Zachary Olpin was charged with one felony count and one misdemeanor count of injury to a child.
They appeared separately in court on March 11, where Zachary Olpin was given a bond set at $15,000, with Megan Olpin’s set at $20,000. Both posted bond on March 12, and were released, according to the Journal. They are scheduled to appear in court again March 24 for preliminary hearings.
Thankfully, the young girl wasn’t seriously injured.
The girl was interviewed in the presence of her paternal grandmother, according to the Journal. Police were shown photographs of the girl’s many bruises and other marks. She allegedly she told her grandmother that Megan Olpin had hit her in the mouth.
She was interviewed again a few days later at Upper Valley Child Advocacy Center and said Megan Olpin “bonked” her on the head with a shoe. She also said Zachary Olpin kept “bonking” her head because he was mad at her.
A medical evaluation performed on the girl found she had no broken bones or signs of concussion. She was placed in the care of her grandmother as a safety precaution.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
