Trempealeau County Woman Arrested for Charges of Physical Abuse and Neglect of a Child

Saturday, May 11th, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Heather Knox, WEAU) A woman was arrested yesterday on charges of physical abuse and neglect after an investigation into an incident at an unlicensed daycare facility in her home.

According to Heather Knox with WEAU, court documents show that on May 9, 33-year-old Maegan Valley of the Town of Caledonia, Wis., was arrested and charged following an investigation into an incident at an unlicensed in-home daycare facility that resulted in a one-year-old child being taken to a burn unit with second- and third-degree burns.

Valley is charged with physical abuse of a child - recklessly cause great bodily harm and neglecting a child - consequence is great bodily harm. The court ordered a cash bond of $2,500.

Valley is set to appear in court on June 11. According to the criminal complaint, on April 11, two detectives were sent to investigate an incident at an unlicensed daycare facility in the Town of Caledonia. This facility was operated by Valley and her husband.

Law enforcement was told that the one-year-old child under Valley’s care had been transported to a medical facility burn unit in St. Paul, Minn. for scalding burns to his face and body.

The detectives interviewed the parents and learned that their son had no burns on his face or body when they dropped him off at Valley’s home. Later that morning, Valley called the parents via Facetime to tell them their son was “really fussy and irritated” and that his face and body had broken out in hives.

The parents picked up their son and brought him to the hospital. When they picked him up, he was wet, wearing only a diaper and wrapped in a damp blanket. His skin was peeling and there was a ring of skin around his right wrist.

At the hospital, medical providers told the parents that the injuries were burns. Records from the burn unit later indicated that they were second- and third-degree scald burns. The parents showed a detective the child’s clothing he had been wearing when he was dropped off.

The sweatshirt was damp and the t-shirt had a stain that matched the burn pattern on the child’s body. Further investigation and interviews concluded that the injuries were consistent with having a hot liquid thrown onto the right side of the body.

The criminal complaint concluded that Valley was the person responsible for the child’s welfare at the time of his injury and that she put the child in a position to sustain second- and third-degree burns through a failure of supervision and necessary care.

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