Former teacher at preschool near State College charged with child endangerment
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- Ferguson Township police charged a former preschool teacher with child endangerment.
- Video footage showed the teacher forcibly grabbing five children’s heads and faces.
- The preschool fired the teacher and reported the incident to state child welfare authorities.
A former teacher at an early childhood center near State College was charged Monday with felony child endangerment after allegedly grabbing the faces and heads of five children.
Janelle L. Bobb, 42, of Centre Hall, forcibly grabbed the boys when she was the only teacher in a room at Building Bridges School For Early Learning, a Ferguson Township police officer wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
The force was captured on video footage and was “in excess of disciplinary guidelines and established childcare standards,” police wrote. The officer said at least two children were physically injured.
Bobb was immediately terminated when another teacher “witnessed her hand on a child’s face,” the preschool said Tuesday in an email to the Centre Daily Times. A question asking specifically when Bobb was terminated was not immediately returned.
“It is, of course, directly against our policy,” the preschool said. The allegations were then reported to the state Department of Human Services and ChildLine. After thanking the police department, the school declined further comment.
The investigation began June 20 when the school, 2112 Sandy Drive in Ferguson Township, informed a mother that a worker grabbed her son, causing a scratch on his left cheek. When asked if someone hurt him, police said the child quietly said “yeah” without disclosing more.
School staff then showed an officer footage of the alleged crimes.
Police said footage shows Bobb telling one child he was “making a mess” before taking away his lunchtime snack. The child began crying and yelling when police said she grabbed his face under his chin, squeezed his cheeks and then pushed his head away.
In an earlier incident, Bobb was heard telling a separate child to “give something back” before grabbing him by his arm, sliding him on the floor and then grabbing his face. She grabbed him two more times, police wrote, stopping once another teacher could see the children.
Footage showed Bobb grabbing three other children in a similar fashion, police wrote. She was heard telling one child, “You don’t tell me no” before shoving him in the back, police wrote.
At least two children were seen wincing when Bobb approaching them, police wrote.
No defense lawyer was listed and the Centre County Public Defender Office said it was not representing her as of Tuesday morning. Bobb told the CDT she had not yet retained an attorney and declined further comment.
She was arraigned Monday by District Judge Casey McClain, who released her on $7,500 unsecured bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27.
This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 11:31 AM.