Former Menomonee Falls preschool teacher appears in court following child abuse charges

 

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A preliminary hearing was held Monday for a former Menomonee Falls preschool teacher who faces two felony counts of physical abuse of a child.

Madeline J. Ferguson, 27, is accused of allegedly mistreating at least two 3-year-old kids at Cadence Academy Preschool in Menomonee Falls.

Monday's preliminary hearing, which lasted a little over 30 minutes, concluded with Ferguson's attorney, John Anthony Ward, entering a not guilty plea.

Only one witness was called to the stand: Detective Eric Palmer from the Menomonee Police Department. Palmer has been an officer in Menomonee Falls since 2009, and in the detective bureau since 2019. In detail, he described what he recalled seeing from the day care's surveillance footage, which is only one minute and 20 seconds long.

"The defendant had a water bottle in each of her hands and struck Victim A in the back of the head with one of the water bottles. After a couple of seconds, Victim A falls over to the carpet in the playroom of the classroom, the defendant then grabs Victim A on the right side of the neck, collar area of the shirt, pulls him up off the ground," he said.

That was only one of at least two incidents reported on Sept. 19. Detective Palmer said he also obtained photographs of the alleged incident involving the 3-year-old boy, who he said had several evident "claw-type scratches."

"Four red marks, which appeared to be from a hand, based on my training and experience," Palmer said. "One of which was a larger injury that caused severe scabbing."

According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, the school was fined $200.

Ferguson faces up to seven years in prison and she could be fined up to $20,000.

A hearing at Waukesha County Courthouse is set for Nov. 30 at 10 a.m.