MANCHESTER, Mo. – Kidsplay Child Care in Manchester was suddenly a police scene on June 16 when investigators reported finding methamphetamine in the director’s purse and in an infant room.
The center said that the director was fired on the spot and that it was a childcare employee who called the police, along with a childcare licensing inspector who happened to be on-site during the discovery.
A Manchester police officer wrote in a charging document, “Defendant is director of daycare and has drugs on her. She admitted being on meth and carrying meth. Open bag of meth found on floor in baby’s room.”
“What if that child would have gotten ahold of that?” Randi Briggs, a mom, said.
She said she did not have children at the facility but said she once had to pull her child from a questionable center.
“It’s sickening, the world that we’re in. You put trust and faith in somebody to care for your child,” Biggs said.
“By the grace of God, no one was killed,” said St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell.
Bell’s office charged 36-year-old Nichole Doster with eight counts of child endangerment—one for every infant in the room with the bag of meth—and one count of drug possession.
“Oftentimes, we hear about these stories and say, ‘Oh, they’re going on somewhere else’ – no, these things are happening right here, and we have to be proactive,” Bell said.
Doster’s attorney made the case that she needed a reduction in her $75,000 cash-only bond so that she can arrange for drug rehab. The judge said Doster can accomplish that from jail by phone and said they can return to court for a second request to reduce bond – if she’s admitted to rehab.
On Wednesday night, FOX 2 we’ll bring you a special Fox Files investigation – uncovering the location of every St. Louis area childcare violation so far this year. Reports range from facilities that forgot about children — to a center that failed to report a child’s broken arm. We’re mapping the alarming reports, so you can make the best choice for your children.