A 31-year-old Normal woman allegedly lied to police about abuse she said her child suffered at a local child care and education center, police said Wednesday.
Tricia M. Danyus faces preliminary charges of filing a false report with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and obstruction of justice. Danyus was arrested Tuesday after telling police and DCFS on Aug. 28 that her toddler was a victim of abuse at A Shining Star Learning Center in Normal, police said. Danyus also made the false allegations on social media sites, police said.
A Normal Police investigation found that the alleged abuse never took place, authorities said. Shining Star cooperated with police and has been cleared of wrongdoing, authorities said.
"Normal Police Department will not tolerate false reports for any crime, but this case is extremely troubling given the fact that an injury to a child was alleged and the reporting party knew it was patently false," police said in a statement Wednesday. "This case unnecessarily took time and resources from juvenile detectives and investigators from DCFS that could have been dedicated to the safety of other children."
A Shining Star Learning Center posted on its Facebook page Aug. 28 about the allegations, calling them "rumors." The center asked concerned parents to talk to staff directly.
"We would like to thank our Shining Star families and the community for their continued support this past week!" the center posted on its Facebook page Saturday.
Danyus is being held in the McLean County jail.
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