Waukesha day care child abuse; 3 workers charged, trial date set
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Three former day care workers charged in connection to a child abuse investigation are set to go to trial early next year, as one of the defendants rejected a plea deal with prosecutors.
Kathryn Ascher, 52, and Annemarie Fraker, 27, are both charged with failing to prevent child abuse. Heather Miller, 49, is charged with four counts of child abuse and recklessly endangering safety. The three worked at the now-shuttered Lawrence School.
On Monday, Miller’s defense attorney told the court that Miller rejected a plea deal with prosecutors.
Heather Miller
"I have received an offer, as of last week," said Miller’s defense attorney Pablo Galaviz. "Declined that offer, ready to set this case for trial."
Judge Lloyd Carter set the trial for January 9, as well as for Ascher and Fraker.
"Negotiations are ongoing," Fraker’s attorney Eric Raskopf said regarding a plea deal with prosecutors. "I’m still in discussions with (Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney Kristina) Gordon and still working towards a resolution."
"We don’t have an offer, at the moment," said Ascher’s attorney Peter Wolff.
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Kathryn Ascher and Annemarie Fraker
Both Wolff and Raskopf told Judge Carter that if the cases were to go to trial, they would be seeking to sever the cases from Miller. Gordon said they intend to present other acts of evidence in Miller’s case. Carter set a deadline for the state to file its other acts motion next month, with an October hearing on that and the severance motions.
Police raided the Lawrence School in Sept. 2022, as a part of a child abuse investigation. Prosecutors charged Miller the day after the raid with child abuse.
Records show Waukesha police learned of the possible abuse at The Lawrence School on Aug. 29 when a boy's mother notified the department of Miller’s conduct, after speaking with another teacher.
In an interview with police, the teacher said the boy has "medical needs that cause some difficulties with feeding," and Miller allegedly told the boy he was "physically disgusting" and that "how he eats is disgusting."
On Aug. 17, 2022, the teacher said the boy stood up in his crib. Prosecutors say the teacher witnessed Miller put mattresses in front of the boy's crib to block it from security cameras, picked up the boy and "slammed him face down into the crib" so hard the boy’s body bounced up and down, and held the boy into the mattress to the point he struggled to breathe.
Prosecutors say witnesses complained to managers about Miller's actions but did nothing. Ascher and Fraker were charged in January of this year with failing to prevent child abuse. Investigators say one witness even documented what she saw in writing, but Miller continued to work at the daycare.
All three women have pleaded not guilty in their cases.