Daycare worker accused of abusing 6 more children, prosecutor says – NJ.com

Authorities on Wednesday said additional charges were filed against a childcare worker already accused of attempting to kill a 1-year-old she was caring for at a South Jersey daycare.

Maggie Fruit faces nine counts of aggravated assault, eight counts of child endangerment and four counts of criminal restraint after investigators alleged she abused six more children while working at the Forever Young Daycare in Lindenwold, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

Fruit, 21, of Somerdale, was charged in July with attempted murder after she allegedly placed a blanket over a 1-year-old child’s head, laid on top of him with her hands wrapped around the blanket and dropped him on the floor several times, prosecutors previously said. She was also accused of endangering another child under her care minutes before that incident.

Police were called to the daycare July 15 after a child’s mother reported she witnessed alleged abuse by Fruit, Acting Camden County Prosecutor Jill S. Mayer and Lindenwold Borough Police Chief Michael P. McCarthy said in a statement.

Investigators discovered the abuse was captured by surveillance video, according to the prosecutor.

Police and prosecutor’s office detectives “continued investigating by reviewing all available surveillance footage for the time period prior to the initial incident,” Mayer said. “They observed six additional children were allegedly abused by Fruit while under her care at the center.”

Fruit was arrested on the latest charges after a judge ordered her released ahead of trial for the attempted murder case. Prosecutors opposed to her release at a July hearing.

The prosecutor’s office said she was being held at the Camden County jail, pending another detention hearing.

A representative of the Forever Young Daycare previously said Fruit was “fired immediately” and worked there for two months.

The New Jersey Department of Children and Families also took action against the center after authorities charged Fruit.

“To ensure the safety of children during the pendency of that process and any appeals, the DCF requested and was granted a court order directing the center’s immediate closure,” a spokesperson previously told NJ Advance Media.

Officials also sought to have the center’s license revoked. An update on that process was not immediately available.

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Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com.