CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former daycare worker convicted of child abuse is going behind bars.
Amber Seiler, 30, was sentenced to one to five years in prison by Kanawha County Circuit Judge Kenneth Ballard on Monday after she entered a Kennedy plea for one felony count of battery and assault of a disabled child.
A Kennedy plea means that Seiler acknowledges the state has enough evidence to convict her in a trial while maintaining her innocence.
Seiler was accused of physically and verbally abusing children, including children with special needs, in her care at the Cross Lanes Child Care and Learning Center. She was originally charged with six misdemeanors and two felonies, the majority of which were dropped due to the plea agreement.
Judge Ballard credited Seiler for time served for the more than 300 days she has spent in jail.
Bethany Bird’s daughter, who has autism, is the child whose abuse Seiler pleaded guilty to. Bird said that the parents involved in the case are pleased to know that Seiler will serve prison time after the defense sought probation.
“Judge Ballard let all of us speak and say our piece. The defense fought us on that. She got one to five. We’re pleased with that. She did not deserve probation for what she did,” Bird said.
Seiler’s mother, Kay, who delivered an impact statement on her behalf in court, said she does not agree with the sentencing and questioned how the things Seiler is accused of doing went unreported for several months.
“It’s not what I would’ve chosen for her. In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that it was merited,” she said.
After both Kay and Amber Seiler spoke before the judge, the plaintiffs were given the opportunity to do the same. Bird, along with five others, gave impact statements.
“Each one of these parents you see right here, they all have children that have nightmares and have trauma because of her, and she’s facing the punishment for that today,” she said of the fellow parents that joined her outside the Kanawha County Judicial Annex after the hearing.
In rendering Seiler’s sentence, Judge Ballard spoke to what he believed to be a larger pattern of behavior in Seiler’s character.
“I don’t think the current events you’ve pled guilty to is an isolated incident. It’s more upon your character and how you treat people, apparently. It’s just unfortunate that you were placed in the type of environment where you were supposed to care for these children,” he said.
Tiffani Myers, one of the other parents who spoke during the hearing, expressed displeasure afterward with the prosecution’s decision to pursue a plea agreement.
As this case made its way through the courts, Bird and the other parents involved lobbied state lawmakers to pass legislation that makes all child abuse a felony. While it was not implemented in time to apply to this case, House Bill 2123 unanimously passed both the House and Senate in February, modifying criminal penalties for child abuse and neglect.
Bird said that the work does not stop here, and after successfully lobbying the legislature, she’s written a book, and the parents are forming a nonprofit.
“This is not just our case. I’ve seen four cases this week of the same thing. The law changed. Child abuse is a felony in West Virginia, but it never stopped them,” she said.