The prosecutor who signed off on the plea deal in the case of a transgender daycare worker who sexually abused an infant says he believes the “sentence that the defendant served was appropriate for what could be proven in court.”
“The defendant pled guilty to sexual misconduct and received a sentence of twelve months,” McCracken County Commonwealth’s attorney Dan Boaz told The Spectator in an exclusive statement. “The defendant served over 300 days in jail, primarily in solitary confinement, prior to entering the guilty plea. As the case developed, there were contradictions as sometimes happens and a plea bargain was entered. As stated, the defendant served over 300 days in jail.
“Ultimately, any plea bargain that is reached is my responsibility and I believe the sentence that the defendant served was appropriate for what could be proven in court.”
Reduxx first reported on the case involving Maria Childers, a female-identifying male who works at a daycare in Paducah, Kentucky. Childers was accused of molesting a baby while changing her diaper. Childers was arrested in February 2023 based on an anonymous tip to the police claiming that Childers had touched the little girl’s clitoris inappropriately and police interviews with employees at the daycare corroborating the report. A female coworker told police that Childers rubbed the baby’s private area in a “circular motion,” and said, “She likes it. It just made her day.”
Childers was charged with one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a victim under twelve and three counts of first-degree criminal abuse of a child under twelve. Childers was originally held in solitary confinement at McCracken County Jail on a $100,000 bond, which was reduced to $5,000 after his lawyer, transgender activist Madison Leach, complained that Childers couldn’t access his estrogen treatments. Childers was released in January 2024 and quickly struck a plea deal with prosecutors.
The deal saw the felony charges dropped down to a single misdemeanor count of class A sexual misconduct. Judge Joe Roark sentenced Childers to a twelve-month penalty, but with a conditional discharge for six months. If Childers abides by conditions set by the court, he will serve no time in prison.
Hellbound and Down 