WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (April 24, 2026) — A child care worker at the Rye YMCA has been charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a class A misdemeanor, following allegations of rough handling of a toddler, Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace announced Friday.
Molly Swain, 34, of Rye, was arraigned on the charge before Rye City Court Judge Taylor Piscionere. The judge released Swain on her own recognizance, as the charge is not bail eligible, and issued a temporary order of protection for the victim. The case is scheduled to return to court on May 5.
“Westchester parents who drop their kids off at day care expect they will be nurtured by the professionals entrusted with their care. Instead, this defendant is alleged to have betrayed her duty as a care worker, subjecting the child victim in this case to unnecessary roughness,” DA Cacace said. “Toddlers cannot speak for themselves. It was only through diligent investigation and prosecutorial scrutiny that we were able to file this charge, and I would like to thank all of our investigatory partners for their work on this case.”
The misdemeanor information alleges that on April 1, Swain lifted a 19-month-old toddler by the arms and dropped the toddler to the floor with force likely to cause injury. On two other occasions, she allegedly lifted the child by the back of their shirt collar.
The City of Rye Police Department and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services conducted the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Rye Branch Chief Cindy Adimari.
UPDATE: The Rye YMCA said in a statement that it was “recently made aware of the arrest of a now-former staff member following allegations of physical abuse at the Rye YMCA Early Learning Center.” The organization said that when it first learned of the allegations it placed “two teachers in the classroom on administrative leave, pending investigation,” and that both employees have since been terminated.
The YMCA said background checks conducted on the former staff members “came back clean,” adding that neither individual had “any previous record or any other cause for concern” in background screenings or any disciplinary issues during their employment.
In a statement, the organization said it “takes our responsibility to children and their families very seriously” and that it maintains multiple safeguards, including criminal record and background checks, reference checks, training on recognizing and responding to abuse, and policies designed to prevent staff from being alone with children in unsupervised settings.
This article was prepared with the assistance of AI tools under the direction and editing of Robert Cox.
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