3 more KY day care workers charged with child abuse, including FCPS employee
Three more people have been charged in a child abuse investigation at a Kentucky day care, according to court documents.
One of the people charged is also a Fayette County Public Schools employee who is now on leave from the district.
Theodrick Hersey, 55; Jessica Houk, 43 and Brooklyn Houk, 22, were arrested Friday for five counts apiece of first-degree criminal abuse of a child 12 or under; three counts apiece of failure to report child neglect or abuse; and one count apiece of knowingly obstructing an investigation or report of child abuse or neglect, according to court records.
All three work at A Step Ahead Daycare and The Kids Club Childcare Center in Richmond. It was not immediately clear if Jessica Houk and Brooklyn Houk were related.
Their charges come after another employee, Elizabeth Thomas, was charged this month with abusing children under her care.
Court documents say all three recent suspects knew of Thomas’ behavior but allowed her to remain on staff, leading to the abuse of five more children under her care.
Dia Davidson-Smith, spokesperson for Fayette County Schools, confirmed Hersey worked for the district and was on leave, but she did not confirm his position.
A 2024 Facebook post from the district praised Hersey and identified him as a district mental health specialist at Southern Elementary School.
“’Fayette County Public Schools is aware of the situation involving Theo Hersey,” Davidson-Smith said in a statement Friday. “Due to the ongoing investigation and the confidential nature of personnel matters, we are limited in what we can share at this time.”
Allegations in charging documents include reports of a child being strangled, another child being punched by a worker, and a parent being concerned about potential sexual abuse.
Investigators also found text messages where Houk and Houk told employees to lie to investigators about an incident where a child got out of the day care center undetected and nearly made it to a major roadway, according to court documents. All three devised a plan to cover up the truth about the incident, which resulted in one employee lying to investigators.
The employee later told the truth about what happened, according to court documents.
None of the suspects would talk to investigators who searched the facility, according to court documents. All three were booked into the Madison County Detention Center on $15,000 bonds but have since been released after posting 10% of their bonds.
Thomas was in jail on a $50,000 bond, but she was released after posting 10% of her bond, according to court records.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM.
