NEW LONDON — A terminated daycare employee took a plea deal after allegedly grabbing and bruising a child on the job, accepting a sentence that may let him avoid jail time.
On April 25, New London Police received a report from a parent who said her 2-year-old child had been injured by 49-year-old Robert Snider, a then-staff member at ABC’s Daycare, located in the New London Hospital.
Officer Joseph Walz visited the child’s residence and observed a bruise on his left arm, he wrote in an affidavit filed in Newport District Court.
Speaking with employees at the daycare, Walz learned that the child was playing with a door in between the preschool classroom and the toddler classroom when Snider grabbed his arm and yelled at him, according to the affidavit.
One employee claimed that she was close enough to observe that Snider had white knuckles as he grabbed the child, Walz wrote.
The hospital’s human resources department terminated Snider on April 24 as a result of the incident. On May 20, police arrested him for second-degree assault, the affidavit stated.
In August, Snider was indicted in Merrimack Superior Court on a felony of second-degree assault charge and a misdemeanor of simple assault, as noted in his case summary.
The Class B felony carried a penalty of up to seven years in prison with the possibility of a fine of up to $4,000, per state law RSA 651:2. Court documents indicated that the sentence could have been enhanced because the victim was under 13 years of age.
But Snider’s plea deal reduced the charges to only the Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
Having already served two days in jail, Snider pleaded guilty to simple assault on Thursday and was sentenced to the House of Corrections for one year, with two years of probation. However, the jail time is suspended for a period of five years.
If Snider follows all the conditions of his sentence and stays out of trouble for that period, he can avoid further imprisonment altogether.
“Violation of probation or any of the terms of this sentence may result in revocation of probation and imposition of any sentence within the legal limits for the underlying offense,” his sentencing sheet stated.
The court ordered Snider to be of good behavior and comply with all the terms of the sentence, including no contact with a minor under the age of 16 to whom he’s not related.
Snider is must also complete any counseling, treatment and educational programs as directed by a probation officer; be evaluated for anger management issues and follow recommendations; do an individual mental health treatment; and complete a child impact class or seminar.
If there are no violations of probation in the first year, he may petition to terminate probation early, according to the sentence sheet.
Snider did not respond to a Friday phone message, nor did his attorneys, Eliana Forciniti and Mark Eric Waldner Jr. Merrimack County prosecutor Jonathan Schulman also did not respond.
Reached by phone, the child’s parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said they’re glad the incident was investigated and that Snider may not interact with other children.
“Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that he wasn’t allowed to be around children that especially couldn’t speak up for themselves,” the parent said.
