Oklahoma Daycare Owner Charged with Child Abuse After Stuffing Wet Wipes in Kids' Mouths

Samantha Pearson, 25, ran an unlicensed home daycare in Moore, Oklahoma, and is accused of gagging two toddlers with wet wipes and slamming one into a changing table.

Moore Daycare Operator Arrested on Three Child Abuse Counts

A 25-year-old woman who operated a home daycare in Moore, Oklahoma, has been charged with three counts of child abuse after surveillance footage allegedly showed her stuffing wet wipes into the mouths of two young children to stop them from crying, Law & Crime reports.

Samantha Pearson was taken into custody last week following a review of video recorded inside her home near North Santa Fe Avenue and Northwest Sixth Street in Moore, a city roughly 10 miles south of Oklahoma City. The District 21 District Attorney's Office announced the charges in a press release.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oklahoma City ABC affiliate KOCO, the footage captured on June 26 shows Pearson pushing wet wipes into the mouths of two children while changing their diapers. When one child attempted to spit a wipe out, Pearson allegedly replaced it. The affidavit states she repeated the action with both children multiple times.

The same video shows one of the children trying to crawl away from Pearson. She is then seen grabbing the baby and "slamming" the child onto a changing table, according to police. At the end of the recording, Pearson reportedly strikes the same child with an open-hand slap.

Although prosecutors described the victims as "infants" in charging documents, KOCO reported that the children were 3 and 4 years old.

A spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services confirmed to the station that Pearson had not held a valid childcare license since 2025 and that the agency has opened an investigation into the incident.

Pearson was booked into the Moore County Jail, where she remained held on $300,000 bond as of Thursday morning. A judge imposed additional conditions for any eventual release: prohibition from consuming drugs or alcohol, mandatory GPS monitoring, and a no-contact order covering the victims and their families.

Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 29.

Source: Law & Crime