Georgia

2 Ga. day care workers accused of child abuse, including spraying cleaning fluid in kids’ faces

MACON, Ga — Two former Georgia day care employees have been charged with child abuse, including spraying cleaning fluid in kids’ faces, according to a release from the Department of Justice.

Zhanay Kiana Flynn, 27, of Centerville, Georgia, and Antanesha Mone Fritz, 29, of Tanner, Alabama, are accused of repeatedly harming children in their care at a day care facility located on the Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins.

The alleged abused occurred in January and February of 2021.

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According to the release, Fritz and Flynn are accused of making children fight each other, spraying children in the face with cleaning liquid, hitting a child in the head with a book, kicking a child into a wall, and stepping a child’s leg, among other forms of abuse.

Prosecutors said Flynn and Fritz also lifted a cot with a child sleeping on it, causing the child to fall on the ground.

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Flynn and Fritz have each been indicted on 18 charges of cruelty to children in the first degree, six counts of child abuse in the second degree, three counts of simple battery and one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.

The day care’s former director, 51-year-old Latona Lambert, was also arrested and charged with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.

If convicted, Flynn and Fritz could face five to 20 years on each count of first degree child cruelty, between one and 10 years on each count of second degree child cruelty and a maximum of one year for each count of simple battery. All three women face a maximum of one year for failure to report suspected child abuse.

The investigation is ongoing.

The case is being investigated by the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Security Forces, with support from the FBI.

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