A former teacher at a Centre Region preschool was charged on Monday with child endangerment after police said she was seen on video grabbing multiple children by the face and head.
Janelle L. Bobb, 42, of Centre Hall, was a teacher at Building Bridges School for Early Learning when she grabbed five boys during incidents that occurred in a classroom in June, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Ferguson Township police.
Bobb’s employment was terminated “immediately” when another teacher saw her with her hand on a child’s face, the school wrote in an email to StateCollege.com.
“It is, of course, directly against our policy and we reported it instantly to DHS and Childline,” the school wrote, adding that they are thankful for the efforts of the Ferguson Township Police Department.
Police were called to the school on June 20 and reviewed video that allegedly showed Bobb grabbing a crying child under the chin and squeezing his cheeks after telling him he was making a mess, then pushing his face away. The boy had an inflamed scratch on his cheek after the incident, police wrote.
A further review of video footage showed similar incidents involving the same boy and four others on June 10 and 16 when Bobb was the only teacher in the room, according to the affidavit. One of the other boys also had a scratch on his cheek after she grabbed him under the chin and squeezed his cheeks three times in a short period.
Bobb allegedly also was observed pulling children by the arm, pushing their heads back and in one instance, after checking to see if a boy had soiled his undergarments, pulling his pants up forcefully enough to cause him to leave his feet and fall.
On one occasion Bobb took her hand off a child’s face when another teacher started to come into view, and in another she was seen looking to an area where another teacher would be able to see into the room as she grabbed a child’s face and turned his head, according to the affidavit.
Bobb is charged with a felony count of endangering the welfare of children.
She was arraigned Monday afternoon by District Judge Casey McClain, who set unsecured bail at $7,500.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27.
