Abuse at day care discovered through video calls with jail inmate, IN cops say

An Indiana day care teacher is accused of abusing children in her care as she spent hours on video calls with a jail inmate, officials say.

Laniecia Michelle Smith, 31, is facing five counts of neglect of a dependent and five counts of battery on a person less than 14 years old as an adult, according to records filed July 11 in Lake County.

No attorney information was available for her.

Smith was an employee at Future Leaders Childcare Ministries in Gary when the alleged abuse was discovered by a deputy at the Porter County Jail, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The deputy noticed troubling behavior while monitoring a video call between an inmate and Smith, and the Gary Police Department began investigating, the affidavit said.

McClatchy News reached out to the day care for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.

In a series of calls from June 23 to 27, Smith can be seen at the day care physically and verbally abusing several children, all either 3 or 4 years old, according to investigators.

She spent most of her days on calls with the inmate, vaping “in direct proximity” of the children, periodically hitting them, cursing at and insulting them — calling some “ugly” or “stupid,” among other things, according to the court documents.

In one instance, she struck an autistic boy with a broom to punish him, the affidavit said. A short time later, he comes over to her crying and hugs her, while she talks to the inmate about how much the boy annoys her.

A few days later, she “smacks a child in the face without provocation, causing the child to begin to cry.” While consoling the child, Smith turns to the camera smiling and laughing, court records said.

Investigators got in touch with the owner of the day care, and she confirmed the woman seen in the calls was Smith, the affidavit said.

Investigators said there were five victims of Smith’s abuse.

A hearing is scheduled for July 30.

Gary is about a 30-mile drive southeast from Chicago.

This story was originally published July 15, 2025 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Abuse at day care discovered through video calls with jail inmate, IN cops say."