Pennsylvania

Day Care Worker Pleads Guilty to Pushing Child Down Stairs

Police say workers at the day care had just installed a surveillance camera about a half-hour before the incident took place

A former day care worker who was caught on camera shoving a young girl down stairs pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges in Delaware County Tuesday.

Sarah Gable, 53, of Folcroft, Pennsylvania, was caught on surveillance video in March pushing a 4-year-old girl down the stairs.

"Apparently for no reason she takes this child and just throws her down a set of steps," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

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Gable worked at the Child Care of the Future on the 700 block of Secane Avenue in Primos, Pennsylvania. Police say workers at the day care had just installed a surveillance camera about a half-hour before the incident took place. In the video Gable looks up at the camera after shoving the girl and apparently realizes she is being recorded. She then takes the girl by the hand and leads her down the stairs the rest of the way.

Sarah Gable
Upper Darby Police
Sarah Gable, 52, is accused of shoving a 4-year-old girl down the stairs at the day care center where she worked.

Shawayne Tavares, a manager at Child Care of the Future, told NBC10 she witnessed the entire incident unfold on the surveillance camera in real time.

"I was so upset. I had tears in my eyes," Tavares said. "She picked up the shoe and tried to come to the end of the stairs like, 'Oh, it was her shoe' that caused her to fall."

"I'm like, 'It's not her shoe. I just watched you on camera do it,'" Tavares continued. "Her eyes literally were like, 'help me.' She needs to go to jail for that. You don't put your hands on a child. Point blank."

A Delaware County day care worker was caught on camera pushing her 4-year-old student down the stairs, according to police. NBC10’s Erin Coleman has the very latest on the investigation.

Workers immediately confronted Gable and called police. Gable was arrested and charged with simple assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. She was also fired from the day care.

The 4-year-old girl suffered a minor knee injury and returned to the day care a few days later.

Gable's sentencing is scheduled for August.

A day care worker was arrested after she pushed a 4-year-old girl down the stairs, according to police. NBC10’s Denise Nakano speaks to a woman who says she witnessed the incident.
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