A 48-year-old daycare worker, Mary Stewart, is accused of injuring a 4-year-old girl who came home with a broken collarbone. Stewart allegedly grabbed the girl by the arm and tossed her onto a cot.
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As reported by WJW, the incident occurred on May 1, 2025. At the time, Alexis Higham received a call from her daughter’s daycare. She was told the girl had tripped and fallen over a cot.
Once she arrived home, the daughter, in pain, told a different story. She allegedly said that a daycare worker, Stewart, had grabbed her by the arm and tossed her onto the cot.
After driving her to an ER, it was found, following a 5-hour stay, that the 4-year-old had suffered a broken collarbone.
Following a police investigation, Mary Stewart was arrested in June on charges of felonious assault and endangering children. She pleaded not guilty to both charges filed against her in Willoughby Municipal Court.
Additionally, Steward, from Euclid, waived her right to a preliminary hearing. A Lake County Grand Jury will determine if she will be indicted.
Mother Sued Stewart And Daycare
Higham’s daughter no longer attends the same daycare, which has not been publicly named. The mother heavily criticized the daycare after finding out that there were no “working security cameras” installed inside the facility.
By saying that the daycare “failed to ensure the safety of the children,” Higham resorted to suing Stewart and the daycare in Lake County Common Pleas Court.
“I wanted to speak out because just staying silent only protects the abusers,” Higham said, as per WJW.
Additionally, Marco Bocciarelli, Higham’s attorney, shared his client’s sentiments.
“It’s important that we make sure these facilities are learning a lesson and not just the people that are working there,” Bocciarelli said. “I think it’s a systemic issue that we have to deal with.”
One day after Stewart’s case was bound over to the Lake County Grand Jury, on July 23, an Oklahoma attorney allegedly attempted to kidnap a 2-year-old girl. Tracy Zahl is accused of luring the girl, who is not related to her, and, when approached by a staff member, Zahl allegedly said she had been “sent by God to be with the children.”