An aide at a Christian day care facility in North Carolina has been fired and is facing child abuse charges after she was caught on video tearing a clump of hair out of the head of a toddler she was supposed to be supervising.

According to WBTV, Rebecca Nicole DeGregory, 23, has been charged with one count of child abuse over the incident that occurred at the Mini Academy Daycare Center in Denver, North Carolina in late March.

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The police report states that an investigation was opened after the mother of an 18-month-old victim told deputies she received a call from workers at the daycare saying another child had pulled her daughter’s hair “hard enough to pull hair out but the child was OK.” The mom states that she later received another call from the school, with administrators admitting that found surveillance video of the attack and that one of their employees was the culprit.

Police state that DeGregory was immediately fired.

According to a neighbor who spoke with the station when DeGregory refused to speak reporters, the attack seemed out of character for the woman.

“She does not seem like someone that would intentionally hurt a child,” lamented neighbor Tim Carswell. “I don’t know what happened and I am not saying it didn’t happen. There are two sides to every story. It is just a unfortunate situation. I hate it for her and her family and I hate it for the child it happened to. Just a sad situation.”

DeGregory was arrested on March 26 and has been out on a $5,000 bond.

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