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Unlicensed daycare provider convicted on 26 counts after kids found hidden in basement

In 2019, authorities found a stairwell leading to a basement with a false wall that held 26 children.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A jury convicted a Colorado Springs woman on Thursday of nearly 30 charges related to child abuse at an unlicensed daycare facility.

Carla Marie Faith was convicted of 26 counts of misdemeanor child abuse, a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant and another misdemeanor of running a child care facility without a license. 

> The video above is from 2019 when Faith was first arrested.

RELATED: Daycare owner arrested after kids found behind false

The conviction comes more than a year and a half after authorities found a stairwell leading to a basement with a false wall that held 26 children, all under the age of 2, in November 2019. Many of the children had soiled or wet diapers and were sweaty and thirsty, according to the affidavit.

“It's all on behalf of every single one of these people here today," District Attorney Michael Allen said as families of some of the victims stood behind him at the El Paso County Combined Courthouse. "They deserve justice, and I think that this gives them a sense of justice."

Credit: KRDO
Carla Faith

A daycare employee, Christina Swauger, was also convicted by the jury of 26 counts child abuse, one for each child found in the basement.

Although Faith repeatedly told an officer that no children were in her care, the officer could hear children’s music and a child’s cry from the basement at 838 E. Willamette Ave., an arrest affidavit stated. Another officer arrived on scene and discovered a small seam separating a false wall from the actual wall inside the Victorian home. 

> Read more from our partners at the Colorado Springs Gazette.

RELATED: Trial reset for Colorado Springs daycare owner accused of hiding children in basement

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