Former State College-area preschool teacher gets jail time for grabbing 5 children
A former teacher at a State College-area preschool was sentenced to jail Friday for grabbing five boys by the face and head, force that police said was captured on video and exceeded disciplinary standards.
Janelle L. Bobb, 43, of Centre Hall, was sentenced by Centre County Judge Katie Oliver to eight to 23 1/2 months in jail, followed by 18 months of probation. She’s due to report Tuesday to the Centre County Correctional Facility.
Bobb, who taught at Building Bridges School for Early Learning, pleaded no contest in January to a felony count of child endangerment. The plea meant she accepted the conviction but did not formally admit guilt.
Centre County Deputy District Attorney Matt Metzger told the judge there was “no reason whatsoever” for the abuse. After reviewing the footage, Metzger said it showed “children acting like children.”
“This is the worst nightmare that can come from this experience,” Metzger said. He had sought an 11 1/2 to 23 1/2 months jail sentence.
Each of the children were 3 or younger when they were abused and at least two of them are in therapy. One father said the crime shattered his family’s sense of safety and broke their trust.
He said the footage showed Bobb scolding and berating their son, who later showed behavioral changes. He cast Bobb as a “flawed and violent person.”
“My wife and I will never forget what you did,” he testified.
His wife then tearfully testified about feeling helpless, like she had “no way of helping” her son.
“We were paying for love and care, not trauma,” she said. “... Healing does not address what she did.”
Another mother told the judge she switched jobs so her family did not have to go to another day care. They instead have used the help of their son’s 69-year-old grandmother at home.
Building Bridges, 2112 Sandy Drive in Ferguson Township, previously told the Centre Daily Times that Bobb was immediately terminated when another teacher saw her hand on a child’s face.
“It is, of course, directly against our policy,” the preschool said in an August email. The crimes were then reported to the state Department of Human Services and ChildLine.
Ferguson Township police said in an affidavit of probable cause that Bobb grabbed the children during three separate days in June, including times when she was the only teacher in the room.
Video showed Bobb grab a crying child under his chin and squeeze his cheeks after telling him he was “making a mess,” police wrote. She then pushed his head away, leaving him with what an officer said was an inflamed scratch on his cheek.
Further review of video footage showed similar incidents. She was also accused of pulling a child by his arm and lifting another’s pants so forcefully that his feet left the ground, causing him to fall.
At least two children winced when Bobb approached them, police wrote. She declined an opportunity to speak before her sentence was handed down.
A former Building Bridges teacher who worked alongside Bobb rejected her claim that she was trained to discipline in the fashion that was caught on camera.
A message left with Centre County Assistant Public Defender Elizabeth Vanier was not immediately returned Friday. She had sought house arrest.
“A child at his age should only know safety, kindness and love,” another mother said in a written statement read aloud by Metzger. “Instead, our family had had to watch him struggle with feelings that are far too heavy for someone so young. The innocence and peace every child deserves were shaken.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2026 at 1:28 PM.