A former daycare owner was Thursday found guilty of child abuse after authorities found 25 children behind a false wall in the basement of an in-home daycare in Colorado Springs in 2019.

Carla Faith, the owner of Play Mountain Place, was found guilty of 26 counts of misdemeanor child abuse. She was also found guilty of attempting to influence a public servant and obstructing a peace officer, KRDO reported. The sentencing date in the case is scheduled for Oct. 21.

One of Faith's employees, Christina Swauger, was also found guilty of the same charges, the report said.

Faith was sued by the parents of 19 children who attended the daycare, in December 2019.

According to a civil suit filed against her, officers assisting child welfare inspectors searched Play Mountain Place on Nov. 13, 2019, where they found a false wall that hid access to the basement.

Officers found 25 children being supervised by two adults inside the basement. Many of the children in the basement were found to be wearing soiled and wet diapers and were sweaty and thirsty.

Faith had the license to care for up to six children, but only two of those six could be under the age of two. However, the prosecution said Faith kept 12 children under the age of two at her facility, reported KOAA.com.

During the trial, prosecutors showed bodycam videos from the day the children were found. In the video, Swauger is seen telling the officer that she is just a “friend” of the owner and not an employee and that there was only one child at the facility at the time, the report said.

When asked if there was a basement, Faith said no. Officers asked why there were so many backpacks in the facility, to which Faith replied they were "going to be cleaned for the soccer team," according to the report.

"The level of deception is actually quite remarkable," lead prosecutor Andrew Herlihy told the court. "It was hours of deception."

A Colorado Springs fire inspector later found several code violations in the facility.

However, during the counter-closing arguments, defense attorney Josh Tolini said the kids were loved. "It wasn't a situation where kids were kept continually in cramped spaces. They were spread out, fed, got naps, and did arts and crafts."

"They're trying to stretch the facts of the law to get charges that quell the emotion here," Tolini added about the prosecution's case.

The defense counsel said the woman’s daycare started growing because she was good at caring for kids, adding it was an "egregious mistake" that she didn't apply for a new license.

However, attorney Will Cook, referencing the body-worn camera video from when the children were found, said: "It's bad, I get it, it's emotional. When the officers go downstairs with the gun drawn, it's dark... there are all these little eyes. It looks horrible... But you flick on the lights, and the kids are being held... there are juice boxes... it's not quite as bad as it would seem."

daycare
Representation. Pixabay
RELATED STORIES