A north-east nursery worker has received death threats since admitting dropping a toddler on its head.
India Mitchell picked up a small child and dangled it by the ankles while other children at a Fraserburgh nursery were waiting to be picked up by their parents.
However, the 21-year-old lost her grip and the child tumbled to the floor leaving the tot with friction burns.
Nursery worker admits to holding child upside down and then dropping her
Mitchell previously appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court and admitted behaving in a culpable and reckless manner by dropping the two-year-old on December 5.
And yesterday when she appeared back in the dock to be sentenced the court heard her life had been left in tatters since the incident.
Defence agent Liam McAllister said: “Social media has gone into overdrive with what Miss Mitchell believes to be the most outrageous, fully inaccurate comments made. Since she last appeared in court she has had death threats. After what she has been through, that is criminal.
“The first thing I would highlight and reiterate is Miss Mitchell is just 21, she has never troubled this court previously and I think it is clear from the report and my dealings with Miss Mitchell she will never trouble the court again.
“This has had a profound impact on her when she considers a career she loved, a job she loved and a job she was very good at has been removed over what was an error in judgement.
“It was her view that acting in this way would help the child get over a reluctance of taking part.”
Mr McAllister added there had been “diabolical mismanagement” of the nursery because managers did not tell other staff or report the incident to parents immediately.
Mitchell – of Wallace Way, Fraserburgh – was initially charged with three counts of assault. However, the Crown accepted her not guilty pleas to allegations which included vacuuming a boy’s hair and pulling another child’s hair so hard she fell over.
The third count of assault, against the girl she dropped, was reduced to one of behaving culpably and recklessly. Mitchell accepted the lesser charge.
Sentencing Mitchell, who no longer works at the nursery, Sheriff Andrew Miller said: “This is clearly a serious matter – the girl was vulnerable due to her tender years. She was entrusted to your care. Ensuring the safety of the children who use these facilities is of paramount importance.
“I note you undertook training and intended to pursue a career in child care. You are no longer working in this particular field and the inference in the report suggests you will be precluded from working with children in the future.”
Sheriff Miller concluded that a jail term was “not appropriate” in the circumstances given Mitchell’s guilty plea to a lesser charge.
He added that fining a young woman who is unemployed would be a “penalty” on her parents who would likely have to pay. And he said health issues would prevent Mitchell from doing work in the community.
As a result he placed her under supervision for the next year.
Last night the parent of one child at the nursery said: “I just wish the nursery had dealt with it properly. That would have saved so much hassle for everyone involved.”
The nursery declined to comment last night.
