By Shereen Siewert
WESTON — A 40-year-old woman is facing criminal charges after investigators and social workers discovered eight children in her care in unsafe conditions, according to court documents.
Police say Kimberly Haugen of Weston was running an unlicensed daycare in her home when the mother of a child Haugen cared for tipped police about suspicions of neglect. The woman told police she stopped taking her daughter to daycare at Haugen’s home after repeatedly seeing children locked in their car seats in a back bedroom of the home. The mother also accused Haugen of duct taping children to their chairs during mealtimes, court documents state.
Detectives and social workers paid Haugen a visit on May 2 to investigate the allegations. There, police said, they found the home in an “unsafe condition for children,” discovering a butcher block knife set, two X-Acto knives and spray chemicals lying on the floor within reach of the children. There was no gate on the door to the basement stairway, and an infant was found lying unattended on a bed in the back bedroom, crying, according to the police report. A roll of duct tape was on the living room coffee table.
Haugen allegedly told police the home was in disarray because she was spring cleaning and gearing up for a garage sale, and had forgotten about the baby in the back room. She denied using duct tape to secure the children and said she typically placed children in car seats because it is better for their digestion, according to court records.
Police notified parents of all the children in Haugen’s care, who ranged in age from infant to five years old, to collect their children before arresting Haugen on charges of second degree recklessly endangering safety and eight counts of child neglect.
Haugen appeared Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court and was released after posting a $5,000 cash bond. A judge also prohibited her from having any contact with minors younger than 12.
A preliminary hearing is set for May 21.
