Woman Hides 26 Toddlers In Her Basement, Faces Child Abuse Charges

Twenty-six toddlers who had been locked up behind a false wall in a daycare center were found in Colorado ahead of Christmas. On Dec. 23, a 58-year-old daycare owner was charged after illegally hiding more than 20 children and two adults in her daycare facility, which was attached as a secondary building to her home.

Police from the Colorado Springs Police Department conducted a welfare check on Carla Faith’s home on Nov. 13 after receiving multiple complaints that her daycare was housing more children than her license allowed. According to authorities, her license permitted Faith to care for only six children, and no more than two of them could be under two years of age.

A police affidavit stated that during the raid, Faith repeatedly denied having children in her daycare. However, one police officer heard the sound of a child crying from somewhere in the house. When they tracked where the sound was coming from, they discovered a false wall in the home and found 26 toddlers and two adults in the basement of the daycare. Most of the children were reportedly below three years old, had soiled or wet diapers, were sweating, and very thirsty upon contact.

Initially, Faith denied having a lower ground floor. However, when the police officers pushed against the wall where the crying sound was coming from, they discovered a stairwell leading to a finished basement area. Officers also found a large stack of children’s backpacks in a closet inside Faith’s home, containing syringes and substances that tested positive for methamphetamine.

Parents of the rescued toddlers said they had no idea that their children were being cared for in Faith’s basement. They also said they were disturbed by the allegations, saying they felt betrayed knowing it was a puppy mill that Faith was actually running. “It took about an hour until police realized where the kids were and that breaks my heart because I don’t know if my niece was down there,” said Ethan Steinberg, an uncle of a child enrolled in Faith’s daycare.

On Monday, local authorities arrested Faith and her two employees and charged them with two counts of child abuse and one count of felony for attempting to influence a public servant.