Champlin woman's home day care license suspended after alleged "severe abuse" puts infant in critical condition
CHAMPLIN, Minn. — A Champlin woman faces charges and her day care license is temporarily suspended after she allegedly severely injured an infant by slamming him down.
Michelle Holte is charged with first-degree assault, according to court documents filed in Hennepin County.
According to a criminal complaint, the 6-month-old child's parents picked him up from Holte's home day care on Oct. 18. When they got home, the father noticed the child "would not turn his head straight, and his eyes were bouncing while still veering left," the complaint states.
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The child's parents took him to the hospital. The complaint states he is in a medically induced coma and suffered a hematoma. The complaint also states his injuries "are highly suggestive of abusive head trauma and severe child physical abuse."
The child is in critical condition.
When investigators first met with Holte, she allegedly said another child dropped the baby. The baby's doctor said this was not possible given his injuries.
The accused child said Holte "was rough with" the 6-month-old, according to the complaint.
In a follow-up interview with investigators, Holte admitted to "putting [the baby] down a little harder than normal." She allegedly said she got to "a breaking point, in a bad way" due to working in child care for so long.
Holte's child care license was suspended as of Oct. 20. The Department of Human Services cited "an imminent risk of harm to persons served" as the reason for suspension.
Holte is in custody and scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.