Grand Forks daycare provider charged with child abuse

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Grand Forks childcare provider has been charged with felony child abuse- victim under 6.

The incident reportedly happened Tuesday, October 15 at Hopeful Beginnings at the Grand Cities Mall (1601 17th Avenue South).

According to court documents, 22-year-old Jarae Grad was caught on video slamming a child to the ground. In the court documents, she tells investigators she was “frustrated and mad”.

Another employee took the video, telling officers, according to court documents, Grad was burping the child “and she believed the force seemed excessive”, so she started recording.

The video allegedly depicts Grad “holding and thrusting (the child) up and away from Grad, and violently pulling the child back.” The video then shows Grad “holding (the child) high from the ground and then forcefully slamming (the child) into the ground” “so forcefully that her legs were thrown back and her lower torso, hips and tops of her legs struck the ground”.

Court documents state Grad told police she “threw and dropped the child down” to get her to stop crying.

In the court documents: The daycare director, Sarah Schindler, says she wasn’t notified about the alleged assault until 2 days later, October 17. The child’s mother told police she wasn’t made aware of the event until October 18th, according to court documents.

An after-care report shows the child has drainage from her ear, has been unusually irritable and fatigued and has a decrease in appetitive.

Grad made her initial appearance in court Monday, October 21. She’s due back in court for a preliminary hearing on 12/02/2024.

The website for Hopeful Beginnings states: “Our mission is to provide a developmentally appropriate Christian environment where children are encouraged to let God love them, love Him in return, and love others is Jesus’ name.”

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