DARLINGTON - The owner of a now-closed Darlington daycare center charged with felony child abuse entered a one-year plea agreement on a lesser charge Wednesday, Dec. 5, according to court records.
Ruth E. Eames, 59, Darlington, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct that had been downgraded from an initial Class H felony child abuse charge. A second count of child abuse was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Eames is ordered to not provide childcare services to any children except her relatives, not violate any laws and pay $243 in court costs within five months.
If she complies with the conditions of the agreement, the disorderly conduct charge will be dismissed Dec. 5, 2013. If she doesn't, she will be convicted and sentenced.
Eames was the owner and director of Shining Star Daycare and Learning Center, 1355 Clay St., until she voluntarily closed the business Sept. 29.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families cited Shining Star for multiple violations several times in 2011 and 2012, according to records from the agency.
The facility was cited for peeling paint on the outside of the building, a blocked doorway, not keeping staff up-to-date with required trainings and failure to log an injury report after a child pinched her finger in a closing door.
Several complaints about Shining Star lodged by a parent earlier this year were found unsubstantiated.
When an anonymous caller to the agency alleged Eames yelled at and "harshly" grabbed a 2 1/2-year-old girl in late August, the case was investigated by Darlington police.
People interviewed by police, including employees and parents, portray such abuse as typical of Eames' approach with the children under her care. She grabbed children who would not listen "on multiple occasions," yelled at them and was caught several times talking to the children in an inappropriate manner, according to court documents filed Oct. 29.
Online court records show Eames has no prior criminal or traffic offense record in Wisconsin or in federal courts.
Ruth E. Eames, 59, Darlington, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct that had been downgraded from an initial Class H felony child abuse charge. A second count of child abuse was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Eames is ordered to not provide childcare services to any children except her relatives, not violate any laws and pay $243 in court costs within five months.
If she complies with the conditions of the agreement, the disorderly conduct charge will be dismissed Dec. 5, 2013. If she doesn't, she will be convicted and sentenced.
Eames was the owner and director of Shining Star Daycare and Learning Center, 1355 Clay St., until she voluntarily closed the business Sept. 29.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families cited Shining Star for multiple violations several times in 2011 and 2012, according to records from the agency.
The facility was cited for peeling paint on the outside of the building, a blocked doorway, not keeping staff up-to-date with required trainings and failure to log an injury report after a child pinched her finger in a closing door.
Several complaints about Shining Star lodged by a parent earlier this year were found unsubstantiated.
When an anonymous caller to the agency alleged Eames yelled at and "harshly" grabbed a 2 1/2-year-old girl in late August, the case was investigated by Darlington police.
People interviewed by police, including employees and parents, portray such abuse as typical of Eames' approach with the children under her care. She grabbed children who would not listen "on multiple occasions," yelled at them and was caught several times talking to the children in an inappropriate manner, according to court documents filed Oct. 29.
Online court records show Eames has no prior criminal or traffic offense record in Wisconsin or in federal courts.