Initial appearances set for Clear Lake couple charged with child endangerment

CLEAR LAKE — Initial court appearances are scheduled for this week for a Clear Lake couple charged with child endangerment stemming from incidents that allegedly happened at their unregistered daycare.

55-year-old Kyle McLaughlin has been charged with two counts of child endangerment while 57-year-old Peggy McLaughlin is facing one count of child endangerment.

Court documents show Kyle McLaughlin is accused in December 2016 of hitting a three-year-old boy in the back hard enough to leave a visible welt or bruise, with McLaughlin saying he tried to spank the boy across the diaper and must have missed.

Both McLaughlins are also charged in connection with a 20-month-old girl who suffered a broken leg in August 2017. The child’s parents say when they picked her up, the girl was crying and not able to walk. A hospital examination showed a spiral fracture of the right tibia. Officials say Kyle McLaughlin did not offer any explanation for how the injury happened, while Peggy McLaughlin said the girl may have fallen off an activity center in the basement.

Authorities say Peggy McLaughlin had run a registered daycare for 22 years until the couple decided in 2015 that they did not want to allow unannounced annual inspections of their home. Since that time, authorities say they’ve operated an unregistered daycare that was only legally allowed to have a maximum of five children at any time.

Both McLaughlins were arrested late last week and have posted $5000 cash bond. They are both due in court for their initial appearance on Wednesday.

Each charge of child endangerment is an aggravated misdemeanor, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $6250.