Ex-day care worker accused of causing head trauma to baby pleads not guilty

Amy Tingets went before a judge in state Superior Court in Stamford on charges of assault and risk of injury to a child.

News 12 Staff

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Jul 6, 2021, 10:27 PM

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Updated 1,273 days ago

A former day care worker in Wilton accused of causing “severe abusive head trauma” to a 6-month-old boy pleaded not guilty Tuesday during her first court appearance.

Amy Tingets went before a judge in state Superior Court in Stamford on charges of assault and risk of injury to a child.

The boy was injured on Feb. 9 at the Goddard School in Wilton while under Tingets’ care. He had started going to Goddard for just a week before he was injured.

First responders rushed to the school after a call about an infant who was unresponsive after a nap. He was taken to the ICU at Norwalk Hospital, then transferred to a specialized team certified in child abuse at Yale New Haven Hospital.

In interviews with police, the boy's mother said several doctors told her he'd "suffered from what appeared to be 'shaken baby [syndrome]' after and during care."

Court documents show he's still on multiple seizure medications, hasn't been hitting pediatric milestones, and can only see shadows.

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Tingets' attorney told News 12, "Amy's heart goes out to the baby and his family, and she's in no way responsible for the injuries."

But Tingets' arrest warrant shows she had been the focus of a state investigation into allegations of mistreating and being violent toward kids at her previous job.

Children's Day School in Greenwich fired Tingets for willful misconduct in July 2019, something she lied about on her application to the Goddard School just days later. Tingets claimed she was still working in Greenwich, something Goddard's owner told police was never checked. Goddard says it's since enhanced its hiring process.

In response to inquiries from News 12, Goddard's public relations director issued a statement:

“Our first priority, every day, is to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in our care. We take matters like this very seriously and we have been cooperating with the authorities reviewing this incident.

The teacher involved was immediately placed on leave and is no longer employed by the School. We are not permitted to share employment history or personnel details.

We are fully compliant with, and meticulously follow, the requirements established by the State of Connecticut for childcare providers to screen potential employees. This includes conducting and maintaining a thorough background check on each employee prior to offering them employment. The pre-employment background check on this employee came back clear. We were not aware nor made aware at any time that this employee had been investigated by the state because of an earlier incident while employed at another center.

We continue to require all Goddard School new hires complete a child-sexual abuse-prevention course that is conducted by a third-party provider. This is required for all staff members annually. Working with our licensor, we have also enhanced our hiring process beyond State requirements to include a minimum of two reference checks as well as a reference check from a current employer. And, we are increasing the amount of observations being conducted by the administrative team.

The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood has completed its investigation and has closed its case associated with this incident.”