“Overwhelmed” by the workload, a childcare worker threw a two-year-old child to the ground by throwing him a distance of three feet.
Responsible for eight children aged 18 months to two years, a worker from the early childhood center at Poussinots d’Alakazou in Charlesbourg showed several signs of impatience on February 17, 2020. Mélissa Larue’s behavior had also attracted attention of two other workers from the CPE.
It was then that the witnesses saw the 28-year-old woman take the child under her arms and throw her very suddenly towards the ground. According to those who filed the complaint, the two-year-old toddler would have made three to four feet in the air before falling on the knees on the ground without however being injured.
Mélissa Larue’s lawyer argued that the accused was “overwhelmed” by the workload, when she had to take care of eight children aged 17 to 23 months and had asked for help from several times before the events.
Still according to the lawyer, the ratio would have gone from eight to six children after this episode. Mélissa Larue, in tears, admitted to having made the gestures. She will return to court to receive her sentence.