An Indiana babysitter who "beats up" children "if you spill something or make a mess" cut a last-minute plea deal with prosecutors, narrowly avoiding prison time.
Meleiah Fisher, 30, pleaded guilty to five counts of neglect of a dependent, according to Hancock County court records.
She was initially charged with nine counts of neglect and one count of battery resulting in bodily injury of a person under 14, but had several charges dismissed Thursday.
As a result, Fisher was sentenced to three years of house arrest and two-and-a-half years of probation, court records show.
The charges against Fisher date back to incidents in September 2022 when parents in Greenfield, Indiana hired her to babysit their children, who would in turn go home covered in bruises, police said, according to WXIN-TV.
One victim suffered a popped blood vessel in their left eye.
A child, identified only as JV3, confessed, "Mom, you get beat up... punched, slapped if you spill something or make a mess," according to the arrest affidavit, the Greenfield Reporter reported. "She beats him up," JV3 said of their brother, while grunting and motioning hitting and kicking movements.
Concerned parents contacted the police. During questioning, Fisher claimed the bruises on the kids were the results of falls and roughhousing among the children, but police found substantial evidence to initiate her arrest.
Not all the victims were able to testify as many of the children were of nonverbal age, said police.
