Police Find Unattended Children In Kentucky Daycare Attic ~ Larinda Tuttle Charged With 1st Degree Criminal Abuse

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. –  A Barbourville daycare owner is charged with criminal abuse after police found five children unattended in a hot attic.

WYMT-TV reports an official from the Office of the Inspector General went to the Great Start Educational Center on Friday to investigate a report that the business was operating illegally.

When no one answered the door, the inspector called police. A teenager eventually let police inside where they found five young children in a 102 degree attic.

Det. Steve Owens said the attic also contained boards with exposed nails, loose wiring and dead animals.
Daycare operator Larinda Tuttle was being held Saturday in the Knox County Jail on $10,000 bond. Jail officials had no record of an attorney for Tuttle.

The children are with their families. No injuries were reported.

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Barbourville, Ky. daycare owner pleads not guilty to criminal abuse

Posted: Jul 26, 2012 11:45 AM EDT
Updated: Jul 29, 2012 4:02 PM EDT


Larinda Tuttle

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A southeastern Kentucky daycare owner has pleaded not guilty to criminal abuse charges.

Larinda Tuttle is accused of leaving several children in a hot attic last Friday.

State inspectors came to Great Start Educational Center in Barbourville, Ky., to check out complaints it was operating without a license.

They say what they found was worse: five children left alone in an attic in more than 100-degree heat.

They also saw broken glass, exposed nails and dead birds.

"I would never hurt children," said Tuttle. "I haven't in the past. I love children and this is breaking my heart."

A police report says it took half an hour for a teenage boy to answer the door. He said he was the only person there with the children.

The children were all unharmed.

Tuttle faces five counts of first degree criminal abuse.

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I would never use a in home daycare. It is way to risky.

September 7, 2012
Daycare center owner to be back in court

The owner-operator of a Barbourville daycare center will be back in court today, two weeks after being indicted on five counts of first-degree criminal abuse.

A pre-trial conference for Larinda Tuttle, 38, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in Knox County Circuit Court.

Tuttle was indicted by the Knox County Grand Jury on Aug. 24. The indictment stems from an incident on July 20, when Tuttle was arrested by Barbourville Police after five children were found in the attic of Great Day Daycare on Allison Avenue, unattended.

Police had been summoned to the daycare center by an inspector with the state Office of Inspector General, who was there to investigate a complaint that the daycare center was operating without a license.

When the inspector arrived, the door of the center was closed and locked with no one answering. The inspector called police to gain access after making several attempts at opening the door. Some 15-30 minutes after police arrived, a juvenile opened the door and told officers there was no one else inside.

Police then searched the building, and in the attic located five children under the age of 8. Temperatures in the attic were in excess of 102 degrees after the attic was aired out. At the time, Barbourville Police said it was unclear how long the five children had been in the attic.

The children were removed from the attic and police contacted state Department of Social Services. At the time, none of the children appeared to be suffering from any health problems.

Before the incident, the daycare center was not licensed to operate.

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May 14, 2014

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (WKYT) - Larinda Tuttle was accused of leaving a bunch of kids in a hot attic with dead animals, broken glass and exposed nails. After those allegations first aired, she told WKYT she was not guilty.

But Wednesday, she admitted to an amended charge.

It’s been almost two years since Larinda Tuttle spent time in jail after police said she left five kids..all less than eight years old, in an attic at her Great Start Daycare on Allison Avenue.

She told us then that the case was blown out of proportion, that the allegations were inaccurate, and that she would never hurt a child.

“The only side of the story that you’re hearing is what they saw, or what they think they believe they saw, or what people have made up,” Tuttle said in the July 23, 2012 interview.

But today she pleaded guilty to criminal abuse second degree and theft of identity of another without consent.

Police say the children were found scared and distraught in the 102 degree attic when state officials went to investigate a complaint that the day care wasn’t licensed.

She was originally charged with criminal abuse first degree, but the plea deal lessened the offense to criminal abuse second degree.

“Criminal abuse in the first degree requires an intentional act, criminal abuse in the second degree requires wanton conduct. That’s the primary difference between the two,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Brandon Jones.

Tuttle faced other counts but all but one were dismissed with the plea deal. The prosecutor is recommending a two year prison sentence.

Had the case gone to trial, and Tuttle been found guilty of criminal abuse first, she could have faced one to five years in prison.

Tuttle’s final sentencing has been set for August 1.

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