Background: The Discovery Zone Kids childcare center in Evans, Georgia (Google Maps). Inset: Riffat Khalil (Columbia County Detention Center).
A woman in Georgia has learned her fate for forcing two siblings at a daycare to fight each other, even demonstrating how they should attack, authorities said.
Riffat Khalil, 38, was booked in the Columbia County Detention Center last year on three counts of cruelty to children causing excessive physical or mental pain, according to records reviewed by Law&Crime.
She was sentenced this week to eight months in jail followed by eight years of probation after entering an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to maintain their innocence but acknowledge that prosecutors have enough evidence to secure a conviction. Khalil has also been barred from working in the childcare industry again, The Augusta Press reported.
In the summer of 2025, Khalil was working at the Discovery Zone Kids childcare center in Evans, Georgia. The area is located about 140 miles east of Atlanta.
According to an arrest report obtained by the outlet, on or around July 28, 2025, Khalil made a 9-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister fight at the daycare. While in a classroom, the boy repeatedly kicked his 6-year-old sister while she was on the ground before the girl stood up and used a chair to defend herself.
In video footage described by authorities, the defendant grabbed the girl's arm and swung and shook her before the girl threw a chair to the ground. Khalil reportedly picked it up and charged at the girl before giving it to the boy and gesturing that he throw it at his younger sibling.
Another teacher apparently then entered the classroom and separated the children.
Someone with the daycare called the kids' mother that day and asked her to pick them up early. When they got home, they told her what happened, and the mother got her own parents to confront the daycare's owner.
Deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office went to the facility, and the owner apparently showed them the footage. They took the video, and authorities later played it in court.
The girl was treated by medics after the incident, and Khalil was arrested on July 28, 2025.