Two former employees of Bright Path Child Care Center in Medway pleaded guilty on August 10 to abusing two children under the age of two, closing out a criminal case that began when a worker's report to police in November 2025 triggered a state and local investigation. Anthony Barron, 27, of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and Caleigh Kent, 25, of Whitinsville, Massachusetts, each admitted to every charge filed against them, including felony assault and battery on a child under 14 causing bodily injury, in Wrentham District Court.
According to the Franklin Observer, Barron pleaded guilty to four counts of assault and battery on a child under 14 causing bodily injury, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child under 18, and two counts of failure to report child abuse and neglect as a mandated reporter. Kent pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery on a child under 14 causing bodily injury, one count of reckless endangerment of a child under 18, and two counts of failure to report as a mandated reporter. Both defendants had no prior criminal history before the case, per the same report.
Investigators built the case in part on surveillance video obtained from inside the child care facility, which documented the conduct underlying the criminal charges, the Franklin Observer reported. Detective Sergeant Lauren Swarthout led the investigation, which began after Officer Tom Sicchio took the initial report on November 5, 2025. The case was formally logged under Medway Police Department incident reports I25-13046 and I25-13753 following that initial report, according to the Medway Police Department.
From Administrative Leave to Arraignment
Once Bright Path Child Care Center management learned of the allegations in November 2025, the company fully cooperated with law enforcement, placing Barron and Kent on administrative leave before ultimately terminating their employment, the Medway Police Department said. Bright Path operates 11 childcare facilities across the Boston metropolitan area, giving the Medway location ties to a larger regional network.
Barron and Kent were formally arraigned on January 23, 2026, in Wrentham District Court, where they were released on personal recognizance under stay-away and caregiving restriction orders that barred them from working with children or vulnerable populations while the case moved toward trial, per the Medway Police Department. Wrentham District Court holds local criminal jurisdiction not just over Medway but also Foxborough, Franklin, Millis, Norfolk, Plainville, and Walpole, according to Mass.gov.
The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office coordinated with Medway police throughout the investigation, and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care also worked alongside local authorities, the Franklin Observer reported. Medway Police Chief William H. Kingsbury, who prepared the department's release, has said that Massachusetts privacy statutes strictly limit what law enforcement can disclose about juvenile victims, which is why narrative details of the abuse itself have not been made public.
Suspended Sentences Draw Community Reaction
Both defendants were sentenced to six months in the house of correction, suspended for two years, and placed on monitored probation for two years, with concurrent probation on the remaining charges. The court may impose the suspended six-month sentence if either defendant violates the terms of probation, the Franklin Observer noted. As part of the disposition, Barron and Kent must stay away from Bright Path Child Care Center, have no contact with the victims or their families, and contribute to the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office Victim Witness Fund.
The Medway Police Department, in its August 13 update on the case, acknowledged public reaction to the suspended sentences, explaining that sentencing decisions rest with the court and that the plea agreement spared the victims' families the trauma of a trial. Police noted that the families were consulted and supported the disposition. The case reached its final resolution roughly nine months after the incidents were first reported.
Lasting Restrictions Beyond the Courtroom
Under the plea terms, Barron and Kent are barred from working in child care or providing care to children, the elderly, or individuals with disabilities, and they are also prohibited from providing in-home care such as nannying or babysitting. Those restrictions extend beyond the two-year probation period: state child care licensing rules enforced by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care require mandatory SORI, CORI, and DCF registry checks that would administratively bar anyone with the guilty findings from future employment in a licensed child care setting, according to background information published by the Town of Boxborough.
The guilty findings will now become part of each defendant's permanent criminal history. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13J, felony assault and battery on a child under 14 causing bodily injury carries a statutory maximum of up to five years in state prison or two and a half years in a house of correction, a threshold that rises to 15 years when substantial bodily injury is involved, according to legal analysis published by Calcagni Law. Day care workers are also designated mandated reporters under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 119, Section 51A, requiring them to immediately report suspected child abuse to state authorities, with a written report due within 48 hours of an initial oral disclosure.
