Daycare worker gets probation in abuse case

HARRISBURG -- A daycare worker who investigators say put hot sauce on the tongues of children as a way to discipline them has been ordered to spend a year on probation as part of a plea deal.

Twenty-eight-year-old Christi Bailey of Harrisburg also was fined $1,000 when sentenced Friday after pleading guilty in Saline County to one count of battery that accused her of dragging a child by his arm.

Prosecutors dropped several other charges.

Authorities had said Bailey put hot sauce on the tongues of four children at Little Angels Learning Center between last October and Feb. 13.

Investigators also contend Bailey grabbed a child and slammed her into a chair and dragged a child into the daycare's office while squeezing his arm.