Holly Springs daycare teacher charged after allegedly dragging toddler across playground

A Holly Springs daycare teacher was charged after police said she grabbed a toddler by the arm, jerked him backward and dragged him five to 10 feet across a playground, a case that put a child care worker from Apex at the center of a Wake County abuse allegation. Court documents identify the defendant as 40-year-old Archana Singh, and say the child lost his balance, fell backward and hit his head on the ground. Singh turned herself in with her husband and attorney present, was released on bond and is due back in court June 10.

North Carolina’s child abuse law treats that kind of conduct as a criminal matter when a caregiver or supervisor inflicts physical injury, or creates a substantial risk of physical injury, by other than accidental means. Under state law, a person providing care or supervision to a child under 16 can be guilty of a Class A1 misdemeanor if that standard is met. For parents, that makes the line between ordinary correction and unlawful force especially important in any setting where toddlers depend entirely on adults for protection.

Children’s Lighthouse of Holly Springs said the incident happened April 21 and that the teacher was terminated immediately after it. The center said the child involved has continued enrollment and that it was cooperating with law enforcement and state licensing as both investigations moved forward. A public provider listing describes the center as a Four Star Center License at 1605 Avent Ferry Road with a maximum capacity of 193 children, and it shows unannounced inspections in February and March 2024 that found violations involving safety, staffing and medication records.

Parents in Wake County can check a center’s record through the state’s Child Care Facility Search, which lets users search by facility name, license number or city. If a regulatory concern comes up, the Division of Child Development and Early Education says it monitors licensed child care programs, investigates complaints and accepts reports by phone at 800-859-0829 or 919-814-6300, by fax at 919-715-1013, by email through the division’s contact path or by mail to DCDEE, 2201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-2200. The division says callers can ask for the Intake Unit and that complaints may be made anonymously.