Adams County day care owner facing trial for allegedly not reporting abuse
Charges have been forwarded to court in the case against the owner of an Adams County day care owner accused of failing to notify authorities about reports of abuse at her facility.
Bonnie Bretzman, 45, was charged earlier this month with one count of endangering the welfare of children, a third-degree felony, and one count each of misdemeanor obstruction of law enforcement and failure to report abuse, according to court documents.
Bretzman employed former Hanover resident Raymond Messinger, 47, who on Nov. 15 pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child
and two counts of indecent assault of a child less than 13. He had been accused of molesting six girls while he worked at Bretzman Day Care, 140 Clines Church Road.
District Magistrate Mark Beauchat said during a preliminary hearing Wednesday that enough evidence existed to move forward on two of Bretzman's three charges, but the state didn't make its case for obstruction. That charge was dismissed.
Defense attorney Steve Maitland said the obstruction charge alleges willful attempts to "throw law enforcement off the trail."
Allegations: Adams County Assistant District Attorney Amber Lane, who's prosecuting the case, said Bretzman knew that there were allegations of child abuse at her facility, but she never reported them to the state's Department of Welfare or the other proper authorities in Adams County. Under state law, day care workers are mandated to report allegations.
But Maitland said Bretzman did not know there were any allegations of child abuse before she was notified by Adams County Children and Youth Services.
"The parents or the children did not tell her," he said.
After the initial charges were filed against Messinger, she didn't think she had to report additional allegations by other parents who stepped forward, Maitland said. He said his client's training by the Department of Public Welfare contradicted the law, in that she was told she didn't have to report additional incidents if there were an active investigation.
"If you drive by an accident and the police are already on the scene, there is no need to call 911," he said.
Bretzman is scheduled for formal arraignment in Adams County on Feb. 17, the same day as Messinger's sentencing.
Messinger will serve between 20 and 40 years in state prison under a plea agreement with the District Attorney's office.
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