A teacher from Massapequa was indicted for allegedly intentionally injuring one toddler and endangering another while working at a daycare in Lindenhurst.
On February 24, 2025, Megan Marchena was employed as a teacher at a daycare in Lindenhurst where she was primarily responsible for teaching children under the age of two. During naptime, Marchena allegedly repeatedly tried to put one of her 17-month-old students down to sleep by forcefully pushing her face-first into her cot. After doing so several times with increasing intensity, Marchena allegedly pushed the child’s face into the hard plastic edge of the cot, causing her teeth to cut through the skin of her mouth.
The victim was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and needed stitches in her mouth. The investigation revealed that this incident was captured on video surveillance. Marchena was arrested on February 28, 2025.
After Marchena’s arrest, Suffolk County police received numerous calls from other parents and staff members at the daycare, as well as Marchena’s former places of employment, alleging inappropriate behavior with other children. Detectives learned that on January 10, 2025, during naptime, when one of Marchena’s 18-month-old students would not stay in bed, she allegedly picked him up by his torso with his head and legs dangling. Marchena allegedly brought him over to his cot and dropped him onto it from standing height.
On March 6, 2026, Marchena, 27, was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei for two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, both Class D violent felonies; one count of Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A misdemeanor; and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, both Class A misdemeanors.
Mazzei ordered that Marchena be held on $5,000 cash, $10,000 bond, or $50,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case.
“This indictment alleges a profound betrayal of trust by someone who was supposed to protect and nurture these young children,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Parents have the right to expect that their children will be safe in a classroom, and it is deeply unsettling that children so small and innocent were allegedly harmed by this defendant. My office is committed to holding the defendant accountable and standing up for the safety and dignity of all children in Suffolk County.”
Marchena is due back in court on March 31, 2026, and faces seven years in prison if convicted on the top count.
Anyone whose child may have been a victim of Marchena is asked to contact the Suffolk County Police Department’s Special Victims Section at (631) 852-6184.