Military

Day Care Workers on Air Force Base Made Children Fight Each Other, Sprayed Kids With Cleaning Fluid, Feds Say

October 14, 2022Matt White
Robins

Three women are charged with brutalizing children as Robins Air Force Base childcare employees. Photo by Edward Aspera.

A day care facility on an Air Force base in Georgia was a house of abuse and horror for children, according to a federal indictment handed down Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Children at a Robins Air Force Base child care facility, the indictment alleges, were forced to fight one another, slapped, thrown to the floor out of beds, and sprayed in the face with cleaning solution by two women who worked there in January and February 2021, while the facility's director did nothing to stop it.

A federal grand jury returned a 30-count indictment charging two former employees and the former director of a day care facility on Robins Air Force Base, Warner Robins, Georgia, related to the alleged abuse of children in their care.

Robins

A child development center on a Marine Corps base. Nearly all US military facilities have daycare centers. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jonah Lovy.

Both Zhanay Kiana Flynn, 27, of Centerville, Georgia, and Antanesha Mone Fritz, 29, of Tanner, Alabama, face 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree and a slew of lesser charges.

Latona Mae Lambert, 51, of Kissimmee, Florida, is charged with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.

All face 20-year sentences if convicted.

A Department of Justice release details an array of violent acts and intentional brutality toward children inside the Air Force facility.

The charges allege that Flynn and Fritz struck children, caused children to fight and hit one another, seized and shook a child while threatening to strike them, hit a child in the head with a book, kicked a child into a wall, and stepped on a child and applied weights to a child’s leg.

The two women are also accused of lifting a cot with a child sleeping on it, causing the child to fall on the ground, striking a toy out of a child’s hand and then forcing the child into a small enclosure, and spraying two children in the head and face with a cleaning solution.

All three women also faces charges for not reporting suspected abuse.

A release from the Justice Department said the case is being investigated by the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Security Forces, with support from the FBI.

An email to Robins Air Force Base seeking comment on the charges was not immediately returned.

Robins, located just outside of Macon, Georgia, has at least three day care facilities, according to Militarychildcare.com, the online enrollment service military families use to find child care. Two offer care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, while the third offers places for school-age children.

It was unclear where exactly the women worked, though the DOJ called them "former Robins Air Force Base daycare employees."

Read Next: Soldiers Struggle To Find Their Way as Land Nav Returns to Basic Leader Course

Matt White
Matt White

Matt White is a former senior editor for Coffee or Die Magazine. He was a pararescueman in the Air Force and the Alaska Air National Guard for eight years and has more than a decade of experience in daily and magazine journalism.

More from Coffee or Die Magazine
Coffee Or Die Photo
Get Your Viking On: The Exclusive 30 Sec Out BRCC Shirt Club Design

Thirty Seconds Out has partnered with BRCC for an exclusive shirt design invoking the God of Winter.

Grizzly Forge BRCC shirt
Limited Edition: Grizzly Forge Blades on an Awesome BRCC Shirt

Lucas O'Hara of Grizzly Forge has teamed up with BRCC for a badass, exclusive Shirt Club T-shirt design featuring his most popular knife and tiomahawk.

BRCC Limited Edition Josh Raulerson Blackbeard Skull Shirt
From Naval Service to Creative Canvas: BRCC Veteran Artist Josh Raulerson

Coffee or Die sits down with one of the graphic designers behind Black Rifle Coffee's signature look and vibe.

Medal of Honor is held up.
Biden Will Award Medal of Honor to Army Helicopter Pilot Who Rescued Soldiers in Vietnam Firefight

Biden will award the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War Army helicopter pilot who risked his life to save a reconnaissance team from almost certain death.

dear jack mandaville
Dear Jack: Which Historic Battle Would You Want To Witness?

Ever wonder how much Jack Mandaville would f*ck sh*t up if he went back in time? The American Revolution didn't even see him coming.

west point time capsule
West Point Time Capsule Yields Centuries-Old Coins

A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that at first appeared to yield little more than dust contains hidden treasure, the US Military Academy said.

Ouija Board aircraft carrier
Low-Tech ‘Ouija Boards’ Have Helped Aircraft Carriers Operate for Decades

Since the 1920s, a low-tech tabletop replica of an aircraft carrier’s flight deck has been an essential tool in coordinating air operations.

  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
Contact Us
Contact Us
© 2024 Coffee or Die Magazine. All Rights Reserved