Defendants in North Logan child abuse case appear in court

A North Logan couple who provided child care together in their home appeared in 1st District Court together Tuesday, each accused of causing injury to children in their care.

Craig and Brenda Petith were arrested at their home Dec. 22, and each was charged with multiple counts of child abuse involving physical injury, a class A misdemeanor.

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 26 where prosecutors will have to present evidence in the case.

North Park Police Chief Kim Hawkes said the arrest came after the Division of Child and Family Services contacted police after receiving a complaint regarding the care of some of the children in the home.

The alleged abuse involved two children from two different families. Hawkes said he would not disclose the nature of the abuse at this time, saying only that it was physical abuse.

However, in separate proceedings, the Utah Department of Health’s child care licensing division has conducted its own investigation.

Child care licensing administrator Simon Bolivar said the Petiths have received a letter revoking their license, but that remains under appeal at this time. While that appeal is pending, he said, the couple may continue caring for the children who were already enrolled.

Brenda Petith has been a licensed child care provider since May 2007, and at the time of arrest she held a family license, allowing her to care for up to 14 children in her home, with the help of at least one other individual over the age of 18.

Licensed child care providers are subject to inspections by the state about twice per year, with one of those being an unannounced visit. In 2016, Brenda’s childcare was inspected in March and again in November with no citations. However, after the investigation in December, three violations were noted on the Child Care Licensing website.

The state’s findings say the couple did not protect the children in their care from physical or emotional abuse, used spanking, hitting or shaking as measures of discipline, and shouted at children in their care.

Bolivar said the Petiths have gone through one appeal, but a second appeal is ongoing.

Craig and Brenda Petith