Background: News footage of the Milestones Early Learning Center in Plymouth, Minn. (KSTP). Inset: Aniya Keosongseng (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office).
A Minnesota woman lost her job at a day care center after police said she was so intoxicated at work that she had to be brought to a hospital.
Aniya Keosongseng, 21, was charged with endangering a child and interfering with a peace officer in connection with an incident that took place in February. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Keosongseng was employed as a day care aide at the Milestones Early Learning Center in Plymouth, Minnesota, on Feb. 23 when another employee called police saying one of the teachers was having a "panic attack."
When police arrived at the day care center, they said they found Keosongseng intoxicated.
According to the complaint, Keosongseng smelled of alcohol and her colleagues said she was "slurring her words" and "stumbling." Police obtained surveillance video from the day care center and noted that Keosongseng's condition "deteriorated" on the afternoon of Feb. 23. The video showed Keosongseng "nodding off" while trying to button up a child's outfit. Moments later, she picked the child up and then fell backwards into a wall, allegedly slamming the child's head into the wall.
Police said Keosongseng was seen consoling the child. When she moved to "scoot" towards the child while on the ground, she allegedly "lost balance and fell on top of the child."
When police arrived at the scene and found Keosongseng in her allegedly inebriated state, they went to arrest her. Keosongseng allegedly resisted arrest by "pulling away and dropping herself to the floor." While on the ground, she allegedly bit an officer on the leg.
According to the complaint, police ran a PBT on Keosongseng, which showed that she had a blood alcohol content of 0.356, more than four times the legal driving limit in Minnesota. Police said Keosongseng admitted that she went home during her lunch hour and drank alcohol before returning to work that day. Instead of bringing her directly to jail, police brought her to the hospital "due to her level of intoxication."
Local ABC affiliate KSTP received a statement from the day care center stating that Keosongseng was fired immediately. The statement also said that the children she was watching were "moved to another room" so Keosongseng could be "assisted" during what they initially believed was a "potential medical concern." They acknowledged that "alcohol was involved."
The day care center's statement said that after it cooperated with detectives and spoke to the children's families, "no child was injured as a result of the staff member's behavior."
Keosongseng was charged with endangering a child and interfering with a peace officer, both gross misdemeanors. After being booked into the Hennepin County Jail, she was released. Her next court date is scheduled for April 16.
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