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Childcare worker is charged with biting cheek

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By Dustin Lemmon | Saturday, August 05, 2006 | 27 comment(s)

A 19-year-old employee at Palmer/YMCA Childcare Center is facing criminal charges for losing her patience with a 3-year-old and biting him on the cheek.

Nicole E. Goeller, of 2722 E. 53rd St., Apt. 5, Davenport, is charged in Scott County District Court with child endangerment causing bodily injury.

Frank Klipsch, president and CEO of the Scott County Family YMCA, said the incident was reported to the Iowa Department of Human Services, or DHS, immediately after it happened and Goeller, who’d been with the YMCA for two years, was terminated within an hour.

The bite happened the morning of July 28 and later was reported to Davenport police by the DHS. According to a police report, there was at least one witness.

Davenport police Lt. Gene Wall said Goeller was frustrated with the child and allegedly bit him, leaving a red mark that was still visible three days later. He said the bite didn’t break the skin.

The boy’s father, Matthew Critten of Davenport, said Thursday that his son didn’t have to go to the hospital but there is still a bruise on his face. Critten said he did not know the details of what led to the biting.

“I was pretty upset as any parent would be,” Critten said.

The boy is still going to the day care, he added.

“I’m really confident in the day care itself,” he said. “I appreciate what they’ve done so far.”

Wall said it’s not unusual for police and other agencies investigating child abuse to see incidents of biting.

“There is nothing we haven’t seen,” he said. “We see bite marks all the time.”

Goeller was arrested this week but was out of custody Thursday. She is scheduled to make her initial appearance Tuesday. She did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Klipsch said the YMCA does personal and criminal background checks on all of its employees and strives to ensure they will be responsible caregivers.

“The YMCA and our entire organization take this responsibility almost as a sacred trust,” he said. “We make sure all of the (employees) meet the requirements.”

He said all of the parents with children in the program were notified of what happened.

“Obviously it’s not acceptable in any of our childcare programs,” he said. “Whatever the degree of the activity, anything is unacceptable.”

Lori Leipold, a spokeswoman for Palmer College, referred comment on the incident to the Scott County Family YMCA.

Palmer/YMCA Childcare Center, 724 N. Harrison St., is located two blocks from Palmer College and is designed to provide childcare for students while they are attending classes. The 4,500-square-foot center is operated by the Scott County Family YMCA and accommodates 64 children.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.