Tutor Time of Lindenhurst teacher Megan Marchena charged with assaulting second child

A Lindenhurst day care teacher arrested last year for physically abusing an 18-month-old child who later required stitches has been charged with assaulting a second child — a young boy who she allegedly dropped from a standing position onto his bed, Suffolk County prosecutors said Friday.

Megan Marchena, 27, of Massapequa, was arraigned Friday in an updated indictment on two counts of second-degree assault, one count of third-degree assault and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. 

Court records show Marchena, a Plainedge High School graduate, pleaded not guilty and State Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei ordered her held on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.

She faces up to 7 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

"This indictment alleges a profound betrayal of trust by someone who was supposed to protect and nurture these young children," said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. "Parents have the right to expect that their children will be safe in a classroom, and it is deeply unsettling that children so small and innocent were allegedly harmed by this defendant."

Steve Fondulis, Marchella's Port Jefferson-based defense attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Feb. 24, 2025, Marchena was employed as a teacher at Tutor Time of Lindenhurst, where she was primarily responsible for the care of children under the age of 2, prosecutors said.

During naptime, Marchena tried to put a female 17-month-old student to sleep by forcefully and repeatedly pushing her face-first into her cot with increasing intensity, authorities said. 

Marchena, prosecutors said, eventually pushed the child’s face into the hard plastic edge of the cot, causing the toddler's teeth to cut through the skin of her mouth.

The victim was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and needed stitches in her mouth to close the wound, authorities said.

The incident, investigators said, was captured on video surveillance and Marchena was arrested on Feb. 28, 2025.

She pleaded not guilty last year to second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child and was held on $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond.

After Marchena’s initial arrest, Suffolk police said they received numerous calls from other parents and staff members at the day care, along with her former places of employment — all alleging inappropriate behavior with children.

As law enforcement continued investigating, detectives learned that during naptime on Jan. 10, 2025, at Tutor Time, one of Marchena’s 18-month-old male students would not stay in bed, officials said.

Marchena, prosecutors said, picked the child up by his torso with his head and legs dangling, brought him over to his cot and dropped him from a standing height. The child was not injured, the DA's office said.

In March 2025, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services issued 10 violations — including one regarding alleged corporal punishment — against the day care facility, Newsday previously reported. The violations were since corrected, records show.

Records show the state conducted an unannounced inspection at the facility on Jan. 26 and found no additional violations.

Tutor Time in Lindenhurst declined to comment on the new indictment. 

Marchena was a former trainer with the Plainedge Soccer Club but ended her tenure in November 2023, a club official said.

Marchena is due back in court on March 31.

Prosecutors asked that if you believe your child may have been a victim of Marchena to contact the Suffolk County Police Department’s Special Victims Section at 631-852-6184.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.