Paige Williams/file photo
Following a five-day trial in Christian Circuit Court, a jury found the former pastor and daycare director at First United Methodist Church guilty Friday on several counts related to abuse of infants in the daycare facility.
Court officials say the jury found former pastor Paige Williams guilty of eight counts of criminal abuse in the 3rd degree, which are misdemeanors.
Former daycare director Abby Leach was found guilty of six counts of criminal abuse in the 2nd degree and two counts of criminal abuse in the 3rd degree. The second-degree counts are Class D felonies.
Both had been indicted on eight counts of criminal child abuse in the first degree, accused of breaching their responsibility to protect children in the daycare from abuse.
Former employee Allison Simpson was convicted last year of 12 counts of first-degree criminal abuse and 12 counts of third-degree criminal child abuse. Nina Morgan was convicted of one count of criminal abuse in the third-degree, a misdemeanor.
The penalty phase of the trial got underway Friday evening.
Williams was ordered to pay a $500 fine for her eight misdemeanor counts and Leach a $125 fine for her two misdemeanor counts.
Leach was given a year for each of her six felonies to run concurrently for a total of one year.
She was taken into custody and formal sentencing was set for March 17.