Preschool teacher arrested after allegedly drugging toddlers with sleep aid
A California preschool teacher was arrested on child endangerment charges after allegedly putting an over-the-counter sleep aid into the drinking cups of toddlers in her classroom.
According to reports at the time, 59-year-old Deborah Gratz had been fired from her job at a Kiddie Academy preschool in Morgan Hill before her arrest. A witness told authorities they had seen her putting an unknown substance into the cups of children aged 1 to 2.
When confronted by administrators, Gratz reportedly admitted she had added the sleep aid to the children's drinks. Police said none of the children drank from the cups on the day the incident was reported. She had worked at the childcare center for about five years.
The case was a stark reminder of the trust parents place in childcare workers — and how quickly that trust can become a police matter. Gratz faced felony charges; the allegations, as with any arrest, were unproven in court at the time of reporting.
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