Woman fined for taping toddler

Taping incident alleged at day nursery

A County Down nursery assistant has been found guilty of taping a two-year-old child to a chair.

Nicola Clare Montgomery, of Silverstream Drive in Bangor, was convicted on two charges of assault on the child at the Bright Beginnings day nursery on the Old Belfast Road in the town.

She was fined £200 on each of the charges - a total of £400.

Her co-accused, Julie Anne Massey, of Silverstream Park in Bangor, was acquitted of a charge of assault.

Both women, who are in their early 20s, had pleaded not guilty to wilfully assaulting and ill-treating a child in their care.

Sentencing Montgomery, the magistrate said they were "emotive" offences, but they were not the most serious.

She said there had been no persistent cruelty to children.

A lawyer for Montgomery said she would be appealing against her conviction.