A Raleigh daycare classroom is at the center of a criminal investigation after prosecutors say a toddler’s lower leg was broken while in care. A 24-year-old teacher was arrested on April 8, 2026, at a KinderCare center in northeast Raleigh, a site that already saw state enforcement last year. She remains in jail on a felony charge while authorities sort through what happened.
As reported by The News & Observer, Wake County authorities booked Ashley Nicole Taris on a charge of negligent child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury. Court records and a sheriff’s citation allege the injury occurred on Aug. 22, 2025, when Taris pulled a child by the lower leg, and that an arrest warrant says she broke the child’s lower leg while placing him in a seated “criss-cross applesauce” position. State filings show the Division of Child Development and Early Education revoked Taris’s child care license on Nov. 20, 2025, although that revocation is temporarily on hold while her criminal case is pending.
Mitchell Mill center had a prior citation
The alleged incident took place at the Mitchell Mill Road KinderCare location at 3801 Mitchell Mill Road, according to center listings. KinderCare lists the Mitchell Mill center among its Raleigh locations, and the company operates multiple centers across Wake County.
What the charge carries under state law
Under North Carolina law, negligent child abuse that results in serious bodily injury can be treated as a felony. Per N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-318.4, a willful act or grossly negligent omission that shows a reckless disregard for human life and causes serious bodily injury to a child can be charged as a Class E felony. The statute defines “serious bodily injury” to include injuries that create a substantial risk of death or that result in prolonged hospitalization, a threshold that prosecutors say is met in some of the more severe daycare abuse cases that reach criminal court.
Local context
This latest arrest lands in the middle of a year packed with enforcement actions and investigations at area childcare centers. In a separate case, a Wake Forest KinderCare worker faced charges last fall after investigators uncovered multiple incidents at that center, a reminder that state inspections and criminal probes can collide when problems escalate.
Next steps
Prosecutors are expected to review the arrest file and the Division’s administrative record before deciding whether to seek formal indictments, according to The News & Observer. Taris was being held in the Wake County Detention Center without bond as of April 8, 2026. The News & Observer reported that it contacted KinderCare for comment on her employment status but had not yet published a response.
Parents with children at the Mitchell Mill center who have questions are being directed to contact the center or Wake County authorities for updates. The investigation remains active, and officials have not released further details about court dates or whether they believe additional children were affected.
