FISHERS, Ind. – A Fishers daycare worker faces more than a dozen felony battery counts after police arrested her this week.

According to the Fishers Police Department, 23-year-old Molly C. Taxter of Noblesville is charged with 19 counts of battery—two counts of level 5 felony battery and 17 counts of level 6 felony battery.

The investigation started on March 16, when a parent reported her child suffered a “handprint bruise” to her right leg after attending Kiddie Academy Daycare at 11703 Olio Rd.

The parent met with the daycare owner/operator, who had video from the classroom that showed Taxter “inappropriately touching the child,” according to police.

The probable cause affidavit said the video showed Taxter “shoving [the victim’s] head into the changing table, slamming her down, as well as covering her face with a blanket.”

According to court documents, Taxter walked into the room while they were watching the video and became “visibly upset.” Her voice changed and she “started shaking.” Taxter said she pulled the girl out “very hard” and was “agitated and frustrated” because the girl “cries a lot.”

The daycare fired Taxter immediately after that. Police arrested her Tuesday. The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges this week.

During an interview with police, Taxter said she “was aggressive” and “burnt out” after having worked with children for six years. She commented that “she should not be working with kids” and added that March 15 was a “bad day.”

She admitted she’d gripped the child “really hard” because the girl doesn’t like diaper changes. She told police the girl was “fighting for her life,” making it difficult for Taxter to put on her diaper.

In video from the daycare reviewed by investigators from March 6 through March 15, Taxter is shown to be aggressive with multiple children in multiple situations. She dragged them by their arms, handled them roughly, threw them to the ground and pushed them, police said. The affidavit includes more than 30 instances of questionable behavior observed on video.

In some instances, another daycare employee witnessed the behavior, according to court documents. The workers put children in timeout even though “neither of the teachers are allowed to use timeouts as a discipline,” according to court documents. They also covered children’s heads with blankets, even though “they’re not supposed” to do so.

Taxter’s coworker said she’d reported some of the abuse but “did not remember who she told.” She also said Taxter once cornered her and threatened her by saying, “You better not be telling anyone what I am doing in here.”

Video evidence describing Taxter’s time supervising children tells a disturbing story. During one encounter on March 13, Taxter shoved the back of a boy’s head, causing him to fall down. She then kicked him in the back before reaching down to pick him up by one arm, according to court documents.

Later that same day, video showed Taxter grabbing “Juvenile 1”—the same girl from the initial complaint—“in a very aggressive manner” and throwing her to the floor. Taxter walked away and then came back, dropping the girl onto a mat.

On the afternoon of March 14, video showed Taxter pulling a boy to her aggressively and grabbing him by the face. After saying something to him, she then pushed his head and grabbed another girl, whom she dropped on the tile floor. Taxter then placed the boy in a headlock twice and grabbed him by the neck.

On March 15, the girl from the initial complaint appeared to be sleeping when Taxter walked to her cot, kicked it multiple times and then leaned over and struck the girl at least ten times, according to court documents. Taxter then struck her on the back, picked her up and carried her to the changing table. She slammed her down with one hand, according to court documents, and grabbed her leg in the same area of the handprint bruising.

“This was aggressive in nature,” police wrote of the encounter.

While investigators have identified multiple victims, they believe other children may have been affected. Detectives would like to speak to parents whose children attended Kiddie Academy Daycare from January 2023 through March 16.

They’ve set up a hotline at (317) 595-3317.