Two women have been sentenced to prison time after pleading guilty to cruelly abusing young children in their care at the Happy Hearts Christian Academy daycare center in Alabama.
Kailey Gilley and Magan Koker were taken into custody and booked at Dale County Jail on multiple charges on October 10, 2024. At the time, Gilley was charged with two counts of “torture/willful abuse” of a child that was not in her family, and nine counts of “aggravated child abuse,” while Gilley faced four counts of “torture/willful abuse” and eight counts of “aggravated child abuse.”
According to Alabama state law, the first charge is a Class C felony defined as “a responsible person who shall torture, willfully abuse, willfully mistreat, cruelly beat, or otherwise willfully maltreat any child under the age of 18 years, on conviction.” Aggravated child abuse is listed as a Class B felony.
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On Monday, January 5, the victims’ family members testified in court about Gilley and Koker’s harmful behavior. Witnesses claimed that some of the children who had been mistreated were too young to speak and could not tell anyone about what they had been experiencing, according to reports from WTVY. One child — who has not been publicly named by authorities — was said to have received the majority of the abuse.
During testimonies, a mother additionally told the court that she watched video footage of the women taking turns hitting her child. The child then experienced bruising and swelling from the attacks and was referred to the hospital. This led to the local police investigation into the alleged abuse.
“Officers met with the child’s parents, who reported that the injuries were discovered after picking the child up from the daycare,” Police Chief John Crawford said at the time. “The parents said the bruises were not there earlier that day.”
Other parents said their kids are still emotionally affected by the abuse, experiencing symptoms including night terrors and struggling with feeling comfortable in new daycare environments.
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Both Koker and Gilley took a “blind” plea agreement — meaning there was no prearranged sentencing deal worked into the agreement — and Judge William Filmore ordered each woman to serve five years behind bars and an additional three years of probation. Neither woman will be eligible for parole or early release.
Happy Hearts Christian Academy Daycare has reportedly been closed since Gilley and Koker’s arrests.
The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that child abuse cases increased over a three-year period. Back in 2015, there were 8,466 child maltreatment victims, and by 2018, the number tragically grew to 12,158. As of 2019, the total number of child maltreatment victims was listed as 10.7 per 1,000 children, with child fatalities listed as 3.1 per 100,000 children. However, in 2023, the numbers dipped slightly from 2018 with Child Welfare Outcomes reporting that there were 11,636 minors in Alabama who were victims of maltreatment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
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