Deplorable conditions found in home

BOISE -- A Meridian day care provider, who has been investigated for child abuse before, is behind bars today.

Dawn Seekamp, 37, is accused of slamming a one-year-old boy into his high chair so violently that she broke his leg in two places.

Seekamp was arraigned today for felony injury to a child and is being held in the Ada County Jail on a $100,00 bond.

(UPDATE: Daycare operator re-arrested on new charges with husband)

She was caring for the child at her in-home day care, Building Blocks Pre-school, on Bentley Drive in Meridian.

Ada County Sheriff’s detectives say on Monday Seekamp got angry at the baby.

Other children in the home say she slammed the little boy into his high chair three times, and the impact was so hard that he suffered a spiral fracture to his femur.

Dawn R. Seekamp

When detectives went into Seekamp's home they found deplorable conditions -- feces on the carpet and on a baby seat, as well as rotten food all over the home.

Neighbors say Seekamp has run the day care for years and they suspected there could be trouble in the home -- one described it as a "pigsty."

"For the neighbor to call this house a pigsty is probably accurate - maybe even an understatement.  Pigsty suggests that the house was dirty or unkept, this goes beyond that to the point of being unhealthy," said Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney.

"Sometimes you would see her outside like pruning her flowers and stuff and doing yard work, but really not too much of having fun with the kids.  It seemed like they were just locked in that home and didn't really let them out," said neighbor Ian Hobeck.

There could be more charges for Seekamp and her husband, including additional child abuse allegations.

This is not Seekamp’s first brush with the law.  Deputies say she has been under investigation for child abuse before and had foster children removed from her home four years ago.

They say there was simply not enough evidence to file charges against her and thus, she was able to get a day care license.

A hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon with Health and Welfare officials to determine if Seekamp will be able to keep custody of her own four children.

Seekamp is also facing  possible animal neglect charges.

Detectives say there were dogs, cats, and chickens at the home that were not being fed and had no water.