MANCHESTER, NH – A Manchester in-home daycare owner and three of her employees have turned themselves in to police on child endangerment charges.
This comes after a lengthy investigation led by the Manchester Police Juvenile Division. In November 2023, detectives received a report alleging unsafe practices going on in an in-home daycare at 316 Amory Street.
Through the investigation, police determined that the children’s food was being sprinkled with melatonin without their parent’s knowledge or consent.
Arrest warrants were issued for the owner, Sally Dreckmann, 52, as well as Traci Innie, 51, Kaitlin Filardo, 23, and Jessica Foster, 23, all of Manchester.
All four were charged with 10 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Dreckmann retired in 2023 as Little League District 1 Administrator after 25 years of service to the community.
What is melatonin?
Melatonin is a hormone that regulates sleep. Melatonin supplements can be purchased over-the-counter and have grown in popularity among adults as a sleep aid. The practice of giving melatonin to children to aid in sleeping is addressed here by the Mayo Clinic, which says that while it can be useful in the short-term, there has not been enough long-term study and that sleep issues for young children often can be addressed with creating bedtime routines and limiting screen time.
In March the CDC issued a report indicating a sharp rise in the number of children being seen at emergency departments due to “unsupervised” ingestion of melatonin – it is often sold in “gummy” form and because of that, children may mistake it for candy, according to the CDC.