Police have arrested a day care worker who they say was caught on camera shoving a young girl down stairs at the suburban Philadelphia facility last week.
Sarah Gable, 52, of Folcroft, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday and charged with simple assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. She will also likely be charged with reckless endangerment, police said.
Gable worked at the Child Care of the Future on the 700 block of Secane Avenue in Primos, Pennsylvania. She was later fired.
Gable was caught on surveillance video pushing a 4-year-old girl down the stairs on Friday around 5:15 p.m., according to investigators.
"Apparently for no reason she takes this child and just throws her down a set of steps," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.
[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More
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, a woman whom police identified as 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.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
Shawayne Tavares, a manager at Child Care of the Future, told NBC10 Philadelphia 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."
Workers immediately confronted Gable and called police, investigators said.
The 4-year-old girl suffered a minor knee injury and returned to the day care Monday.
Gable was fired from the day care and arrested though she is currently out on bail. Gable's husband told NBC10 Monday night the family has an attorney and he stands by his wife.