Day care worker binds 1-year-old for an hour, leaves her unattended, OH cops say

A day care worker is accused of binding a 1-year-old child and leaving her unattended for more than an hour, according to Ohio police and news reports.

A parent of the toddler came to Licking County deputies on Aug. 7 about the alleged incident at Over the Rainbow Children Center in Pataskala, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WBNS.

According to the affidavit, the parent said the director of the day care center contacted them and said their child had been abused by a worker a couple of weeks before, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

“23-year-old Katelyn Strohacker had bound the child with tape for over an hour on July 21,” the director told the parent, the court documents showed, according to WCMH. “An investigation revealed that Strohacker allegedly placed painter’s tape over the victim’s eyes and taped her hands and feet together, then left her face down under a blanket and unattended.”

Strohacker was arrested and charged with child endangerment, WSYX reported. She admitted to binding the child “on more than once occasion,” the station reported, citing investigators.

“Safety is a top priority. We became aware of an incident with a former employee. As a result of the incident, both the employee and supervisor have been terminated,” the day care said in a statement to WBNS. “We have been in contact with the family of the child involved and reported the incident to authorities.”

Strohacker was released from jail on a $50,000 bond, according to WSYX.

As part of her bond conditions, Strohacker was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Pataskala is about a 25-mile drive east from Columbus.

This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Day care worker binds 1-year-old for an hour, leaves her unattended, OH cops say."