Preschool Teacher Accused of Giving Kids Sleeping Aid

While second teacher accused of binding toddler with tape
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 13, 2013 2:42 PM CDT
Preschool Teacher Accused of Giving Kids Sleeping Aid
   (Shutterstock)

Two Northern California preschool teachers are accused in separate, equally disturbing incidents:

  • In Morgan Hill, Deborah Gratz was arrested after officials at the Kiddie Academy reported her for allegedly putting an over-the-counter sleeping aid into some kids' drinking cups. A witness saw Gratz, 59, putting Sominex into the cups in her classroom of 1- and 2-year-olds. Authorities found evidence in Gratz's home, but have not uncovered a motive, KTVU reports.

  • In Pleasanton, Angela Calcagno is being investigated by police for allegedly using masking tape to bind the ankles and wrists of a 2-year-old girl who refused to take a nap, CBS San Francisco reports. Bizarrely, Calcagno took a picture of the bound toddler and showed it to other teachers, including the girl's mother, at a social gathering. Calcagno, who had recently resigned from Centerpointe Christian Preschool, told the teachers she had warned the girl what would happen if she didn't cooperate with naptime. The child's mother reported her.
(More Deborah Gratz stories.)

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