After day-care arrests, kids return to center

HERRIMAN — It looked like a typical morning at a day-care center.

On Friday, about two dozen children were in a room doing activities and could be heard laughing and playing. Parents dropped off their children as if it were a normal day.

But what made this scene curious to some is that this day care was the Small Wonders Child Development Center, 5724 W. 13400 South.

More than half of the day care's children were there despite a widely publicized search warrant served by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office just one week earlier, the arrests of the day-care owner and two employees, allegations of drug use, fraud and a purported plot to harm a former worker, as well as possible child sex offenses. The center's license also had been revoked, although it was allowed to remain open during the appeal process, and people with criminal backgrounds continued to work at the center.

After the sheriff's office search warrant was served Feb. 10, Small Wonders voluntarily closed for three days. It reopened Wednesday. Before the warrant, owner Michaele Meier said the day care had about 40 children. The search warrant indicated Small Wonders typically had 75 children in its facility. On Friday, 26 of those children returned.

"I think it just means we have a tremendous amount of support," Meier said Friday. "We're not going away. . . . We're trying to be bold and keep on going."

Since the search warrant by the sheriff's office was served, the controversy surrounding Small Wonders has polarized parents and left employees trying to defend the center. The only thing clear is that there are two completely different versions of what has been going on at the day care.

On one side are parents who support Meier and her assertions that her arrest was the result of trumped up allegations made by disgruntled former employees. They say their children were never in any danger.

On the other side, parents say they suspected illegal activity coming from the day care, including possible financial fraud and alleged drug use. In addition, law enforcers say the owner is a suspect in several crimes, including a plot to harm the disgruntled ex-employees.

Meier, 30, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Feb. 10 for investigation of suspicion of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, two allegations of insurance fraud and one of prescription fraud.

Jeremy Stewart, 28, was booked into jail on warrants, and Leslie Zimmerman, 26, was booked for investigation of insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

On Friday, all three were back working at Small Wonders.