Minn. Daycare Workers Arrested, Accused of 'Sick and Bizarre' Abuse of Children Caught on Tape: Police

Chloe Kaye Johnson, 24, and Elizabeth Augusta Wiemerslage, 22, who both worked at Small World Daycare Center in Blaine, have been charged with felony malicious punishment of a child under four, third-degree assault against a victim under four and two counts of gross misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child, according to FOX 9.

Police began investigating the pair on July 16, according to court documents, when parents noticed bruises on their infant's body after picking up the child from the center.

The daycare reportedly said the markings "might" be from a chair or swing, with Johnson allegedly saying the bruises could have come from the infant chairs, while Wiemerslage said they could be due to how the infant "slumps" in her chair.

While Johnson acknowledged seeing "redness" and bruising, per the docs, Wiemerslage said she didn't see anything of the sort.

Surveillance video reviewed by detectives, however, allegedly showed there was more to the story.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in Anoka County District Court, via the Star Tribune, the video shows Johnson grab one child "by her upper thighs, hip and groin area and violently flips [the baby] back and forth from her stomach to her back."

"[Her] arms are flailing outward, and her body is consistently rigid as her face contacts the floor mat repeatedly as she is being flipped and her head is unsupported," reads the docs.

While there was no audio in the footage, the child "appears to be screaming with her mouth open as this is happening"; Wiemerslage was reportedly facing Johnson at the time.

Johnson is also allegedly seen holding a cloth against a baby's nose and mouth while the child cried, before pulling the baby by the neck and arm and shoving a bottle into its mouth. Wiemerslage, meanwhile, was allegedly seen "violently" slamming a baby onto a support pillow and "aggressively" shoving the child onto a changing table, as Johnson watched.

While Johnson reportedly admitted she could have been "too rough" with the children while helping them roll over, Wiemerslage allegedly acknowledged her behavior was wrong.

The two were arrested last Thursday and released Friday after posting $10,000 bond. They haven't yet commented on the incident, with Wiemerslage due back in court on August 12 and Johnson on September 19. The Small World Daycare Center is reportedly cooperating with the investigation; both women have been fired.

"Although we have been forced to investigate other terrible acts of child abuse, this one is exceptionally shocking," the Blaine Police Department said in a statement. "Most parents drop their children off at day care centers believing that their child will be safe, especially since there is usually more than one care provider watching their child at any one given time. In this case, we found two workers working together with infants, both aggressively abusing children."

Cody Pech, whose 5-month-old son was left at the daycare, told PEOPLE his child came home with bruises weeks earlier -- and was allegedly told by a pediatrician "he suffered a fracture on his tibia."

"We have felt a wide range of emotions about this, from sadness to anger," he told the outlet, saying he felt the two workers "seemed to feed off each other" while calling their actions "sick and bizarre."

He added, "This was a complete betrayal from that daycare center.