SCOTTDALE, Pa. — A former employee at New Hope Childcare and Preschool is facing serious allegations after a disturbing incident was caught on video.
Krista Ondish, 58, has been fired from the facility.
She is charged with aggravated assault of a victim less than 6 years old, simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to court documents obtained by Channel 11, video footage shows Krista Ondish pushing a 4-year-old child twice to the ground on September 5, 2025.
Records reveal she is also seen pinning the child in a corner and allowing another child to hit the victim.
Police say the force of the alleged incident was so strong that a teacher in a nearby classroom heard it.
The criminal complaint also said the mom of the 4-year-old was initially informed by Ondish of an incident that day that, police said, was downplayed.
It goes on to read that after the victim’s mom inquired about Ondish’s termination on another day, she learned the extent of the incident and watched the video from inside the daycare and informed police.
The mom said neither ChildLine nor the police were contacted prior.
Jamie Daugherty says she began raising concerns to the state about the daycare years ago.
Her twin boys once attended New Hope Childcare and Preschool.
She told Channel 11 they would often come home with unexplained bruises.
“They would come home with bruises on their butts,” Daugherty said.
Her sister, Joy Burkholder, also shared a troubling story.
She said she once picked the children up early one day and found one of the twins strapped to a chair.
“I walk back and around the corner, passed all the lockers, my nephew was tied in a chair,” Burkholder recalled.
Burkholder says after, she was banned from the property.
The twins were later removed from the daycare.
An official letter from the school provided to Channel 11 said it was due to “uncontrollable behavior.”
The children’s grandfather, Bobby Murphy, contacted the state to report what happened.
“They came and did an inspection. The staff admitted to strapping the kids into chairs,” Murphy said.
Murphy shared a letter with Channel 11 from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), which acknowledges that a staff member admitted to strapping a child into a chair, buckling them in, and holding them down during their inspection in May 2023.
The letter sent from Pennsylvania State Representative Leslie Rossi reads:
Based on interviews, Staff Person #1 admitted to placing a child in a chair with T-Straps, buckling the child into the chair and holding him down to control the child’s behaviors and to calm them down.
OCDEL issued the facility a citation and required corrective actions.
But Murphy believes that is not enough.
“I couldn’t believe they just got a fine. I really think they should’ve shut the place down,” he said.
Krista Ondish was released from jail after posting $50,000 bail.
As of now, New Hope Childcare and Preschool has not responded to requests for comment.
Channel 11 is working to obtain the video from the Scottdale Police that shows the alleged incident.
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