MACON — A federal grand jury has returned a 30-count indictment against two former employees and the former director of a day care facility located on Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins with charges related to the alleged abuse of children in their care.
Zhanay Kiana Flynn, 27, of Centerville, is charged with 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, six counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, three counts of simple battery and one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.
Antanesha Mone Fritz, 29, of Tanner, Ala., is charged with 18 counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, six counts of cruelty to children in the second degree, three counts of simple battery and one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.
Latona Mae Lambert, 51, of Kissimmee, Fla., is charged with one count of failure to report suspected child abuse.
If convicted, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years of imprisonment up to a maximum of 20 years of imprisonment for each count of cruelty to children in the first degree; a minimum of one year of imprisonment up to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for each count of cruelty to children in the second degree; a maximum of one year of imprisonment for each count of simple battery, and a maximum of one year of imprisonment for failure to report suspected child abuse.
The indictment alleges a variety of felony cruelty to children actions committed by Flynn and Fritz, two former Robins Air Force Base day care employees, during January and February 2021. The charges allege various forms of abuse, including striking children, causing children to fight each other, forcing children to hit one another, spraying children in the face with a cleaning liquid, seizing and shaking a child while threatening to strike them, striking a child in the head with a book, kicking a child into a wall, and stepping on and applying weight to a child’s leg.
Flynn and Fritz also are accused of committing simple battery against children, with the indictment alleging that they lifted a cot with a child sleeping on it, causing the child to fall on the ground, struck a toy out of a child’s hand and then forced the child into a small enclosure, and sprayed two children in the head and face with a cleaning solution. Lambert, the former day care director, Flynn and Fritz are each charged with one count of failing to report suspected child abuse when they did not notify the proper authorities of the abuse after allegedly witnessing it or having reason to suspect that abuse was occurring.
This is an ongoing investigation. Parents and guardians of children who were under the care of the defendants and have concerns about their child are encouraged to contact the Robins Air Force Base Family Advocacy Program at (478) 327-8398 during regular business hours.
The case is being investigated by the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Security Forces, with support from the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joy Odom is prosecuting the case for the government.
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