YMCA Child Care Worker Charged with Child Neglect
In Neenah, Wisconsin, a longtime YMCA childcare worker has been charged with child neglect for allegedly administering melatonin gummies to at least ten children without permission from their parents, according to a criminal complaint.
Annalee Salas Nitz, who stated she had worked at the Nina Menasha YMCA Child Development Center for almost 15 years, faces one misdemeanor count of child neglect without specific harm related to the incidents that occurred between August 31 and October 14. If found guilty, she could face a sentence of up to nine months in prison and a fine of $10,000.
“We don’t trust anyone anymore,” commented Joe Boasma, a father who was dismayed to learn that his young son may have been given sleeping pills at the center.
Details emerged when the center’s operations manager called the police on October 16 after another staff member reported witnessing Nitz take out a child’s pacifier, insert something into the child’s mouth, and then replace the pacifier. Soon after, this employee found a red gummy bear on the floor in the infant room and a bottle marked “Kids Melatonin” in a cabinet close to the nap area, which contradicted YMCA policy.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that reportedly showed Nitz repeatedly placing unknown items in the children’s mouths; however, the clarity of the footage was insufficient to differentiate between gummy bears and raisins. In conversations with Neenah police, none of the ten contacted parents had given consent for their children to receive melatonin, and several noted that their kids had been more lethargic than usual.
During an interview on November 11, Nitz allegedly confessed to providing melatonin to children struggling to sleep without parental approval, sometimes mixing it into their meals. She indicated that she might have administered it to every child in the room over a span of several months. “I am guilty,” she reportedly told detectives, describing her actions as “premeditated,” but calling it “a wrong choice” and a “very painful and humbling lesson.”
Nitz’s first court appearance is set for January 6.
