MCKINNEY, Texas — The former McKinney daycare worker jailed since early December for severely injuring a 2-month old boy now as a total of eight warrants against her with video evidence of multiple assaults on multiple child victims.
Jessica Joy Wiese, 44, is in the Collin County Jail held on $500,000 bond. She was originally charged with bodily injury to a child after Ariel Martin became suspicious about bruises on her 2-month old son's leg and left chest area. When she questioned the staff at Joyous Montessori in McKinney, she was told the leg bruise might be a birthmark. Later she says she was told it was the result of a rough diaper change. But a trip to the hospital found much more: eight broken ribs and a broken femur.
When police investigated, and recovered video from the extensive surveillance system inside the daycare, they saw Jessica Wiese "walking across the floor, holding the child before stopping and hold him by his leg and shaking him up and down several times."
Arrest affidavits obtained by WFAA show that Wiese explained the video by saying "she was frustrated and shook (the infant) out of frustration.”
"I'm disappointed. I'm disgusted. I'm hurt," the child's mother Ariel Martin told WFAA last month. "The tears were flowing non-stop. I couldn't even hear it. I was disgusted."
During the course of the investigation, additional videos from the same day of the incident showed Wiese involved in the abuse of two other children.
Documents show that video from November 27 shows Wiese "go to a toddler in the room, grab what appears to be his left arm area and drag him to the changing table. Jessica picks up the child and body slams him down onto the changing table, landing on his back."
Investigators say another video shows Wiese using "her open hand and slaps the back of (an infant's) head several times causing (the child) to cry out in pain on the video. Police say that in the same video Wiese is "observed placing (the child) on the changing table and using both of her hands on the side of (the child's) head, slamming his head into the changing table." And then "places her hands over (the child's) face, pressing down, crushing face downward."
Affidavits describe another incident where Wiese strikes an "infant in the back with a closed fist (hammer fist) approximately 7 times", "violently shaking the same infant" and "slamming the infant down onto a changing table."
And after seeing our first reports a month ago, other parents have come forward believing that their child who came home with a black eye, and an adult handprint on their thigh, and another with a healed broken arm may have been victims of Jessica Wiese too. Police are investigating if Wiese is responsible for those injuries as well.
Joyous Montessori in McKinney did not response to WFAA email or phone requests for comment today after the newest allegations and warrants surfaced. But after the original incident was reported in early December, the daycare sent News 8 the following statement:
"On behalf of Joyous Montessori, we want to express our deepest sympathy to the injured infant and to her family for the pain and distress caused by the actions of Jessica Joy Wiese," the statement read.
"All our centers have trained and certified staff-members which undergo an extensive background check and pre-employment screening. Unfortunately, Jessica Joy Wiese passed all background checks and has no prior history which would lead us to believe she could be capable of something like this. Jessica Joy Wiese was terminated immediately upon the discovery of this information.
"At Joyous Montessori, we are passionate about caring for and loving all children entrusted to us. We will remain diligent in thoroughly screening staff members to ensure that this never happens to another child entrusted in our care."
The school does have a clean record. WFAA couldn't find any complaints through state licensing officials, and McKinney PD says this is the first criminal complaint against the facility.
Wiese's court records show several minor offenses between September of 2015 and January of 2017, including failure require school attendance, parent contributing to non-attendance and failure to appear in court.
Concerned parents of children who have attended Joyous Montessori are asked to call McKinney police at (972) 547-2710.