Texas daycare worker pleads guilty to kicking toddlers more than 130 times

A Texas daycare worker pleaded guilty on Tuesday to six counts of injury to a child after prosecutors said security-camera footage showed her repeatedly kicking toddlers in her care more than 130 times.

Catherine Elizabeth Guziejka, 44, admitted the charges in Smith County court after authorities reviewed hours of video from Punkin' Doodles Day Care in Lindale, Texas. Prosecutors say the assaults occurred between July and October 2024 and targeted at least six toddlers, including two-year-olds who were seen on tape crying after being struck.

Sheriff Larry Smith of the Smith County Sheriff's Office said the case came to light after a co-worker reviewed surveillance footage and alerted the parent of a child who had been filmed being kicked. The parent reported the incident to the sheriff’s office on Oct. 23, 2024, and deputies then examined additional video that revealed a pattern of assaults, Smith said.

Prosecutors said Guziejka was seen delivering swift kicks to the lower backs of toddlers, often waiting until a child was lying on the floor or distracted before striking. Investigators counted more than 130 kicks across the footage they reviewed, and described the injuries as mostly minor to medium bruising. Smith said those injuries did not diminish the trauma endured by the children.

Guziejka was arrested in November 2024 and faced a jury trial that had been scheduled for this week. Instead she entered a plea agreement. Her attorney, Matt Bingham, asked the court to impose concurrent 10-year prison terms on each count and requested a presentence investigation that will help determine her classification within the Texas prison system.

The owner of Punkin' Doodles, Melanie Dawn Law, told investigators and local media she was stunned that an employee she had hired and trusted could harm children in her care. Law subsequently sold the daycare, which has since reopened under a new name, local officials said.

Detectives continue to review remaining hours of footage to ensure all incidents are documented, the sheriff’s office said. Guziejka remains in custody as she awaits sentencing, and court records did not indicate a date for that hearing.

The case prompted renewed attention to monitoring and reporting practices at child-care facilities in the region. State licensing officials and local authorities did not immediately release additional details about any regulatory actions taken against the facility before or after the incidents.

Authorities urged anyone with further information about the conduct at the daycare to contact the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. The plea resolves the criminal counts now pending against Guziejka but leaves potential civil or administrative actions and any continuing investigative steps to be pursued by parents, regulators and law enforcement.