Two women have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to cruelly abusing young children in their care at the Happy Hearts Christian Academy daycare center in Alabama.
Kailey Gilley and The stomach boils were taken into custody and booked into the Dale County Jail on multiple charges on October 10, 2024. At that time, Gilley was charged with two counts of “voluntary torture/abuse” of a child who was not in her family, and nine counts of “aggravated child abuse,” while Gilley faced four counts of “aggravated torture/abuse.”
According to Alabama state law, the first charge is a Class C felony defined as “a responsible person who willfully tortures, willfully abuses, ill-treats, cruelly beats, or otherwise willfully treats any child under the age of 18, upon conviction.” Aggravated child abuse is listed as a Class B felony.
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On Monday, January 5, family members of the victims testified in court about the harmful behavior of Gilley and Koker. Witnesses claimed that some of the abused children were too young to speak and could not tell anyone about what they were experiencing, according to reports from WTVY. One boy — who has not been named publicly by authorities — was said to have received the majority of the abuse.
During the testimony, the mother also told the court that she saw video footage of the women surrounding her son. The child then experienced bruising and swelling from the attacks and was referred to hospital. This led to the local police investigating the alleged abuse.
“The officers met with the boy’s parents, who reported that the injuries were discovered after they picked the boy up from daycare,” said Chief of Police John Crawford. “The parents said the bruises weren’t there earlier that day.”
Other parents said their children are still emotionally affected by the abuse, experiencing symptoms including night terrors and struggling to feel comfortable in new daycare environments.
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Both Koker and Gilley took a “blind” plea deal – meaning there was no pre-arranged sentencing agreement worked into the agreement – and the Judge William Filmmore ordered each woman to serve five years behind bars and three additional years of probation. No woman is eligible for parole or early release.
Happy Hearts Christian Academy Daycare has reportedly been closed since the arrests of Gilley and Koker.
The Alabama Department of Public Health reports that child abuse cases have increased over a three-year period. Back in 2015, there were 8,466 victims of child abuse, and by 2018, the number had tragically grown to 12,158. As of 2019, the total number of child maltreatment victims was listed as 10.7 per 1,000 children, with child deaths listed as 3.1 per 100,000 children. However, in 2023, the numbers were down slightly from 2018 with Child Welfare Results reporting that there were 11,636 minors in Alabama who were victims of maltreatment.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text the Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.