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Cambria pair facing child abuse charges

Day care reports couple after finding alleged burn mark

EBENSBURG — A Cambria County man and woman face criminal charges after day care center employees allegedly found a burn mark on a 2-year-old child’s stomach.

The child was left at the day care on May 17 despite protests from employees, who told the couple it was at capacity, according to a pair of criminal complaints filed by Cambria Town­ship police.

Andrew G. Seese, 29, of 313 Myers St., Ebensburg, and Chel­sea A. Siska, 30, of 675 Dishong Mountain Road, Johnstown, visited a Cambria Township day care center, where they had previously made arrangements to drop off the child, according to police.

However, Seese and Siska arrived two hours after their scheduled drop-off time, according to the complaints.

The couple was informed by employees that their child’s spot at the day care had been filled by another child due to the lateness and that the site was at capacity, police said.

In the complaints, police noted that Seese and Siska were told that the child could not stay at the day care multiple times. Still, they left the child there, police said.

“The day care had no other choice but to take care of the child since both Seese and Siska abandoned (it) at the day care,” the complaints read.

Later, day care employees found a wound on the child’s stomach, police said.

They described the wound as a scabbed, red burn “in the shape of a cigarette,” police said.

According to the complaints, the child told day care workers that Siska had burned him with a cigarette and that Seese had doctored the wound.

Police were called, and an officer examined the wound. Later, a child services expert interviewed the child who again reported that Siska caused the burn, according to the complaints.

Later that night, Seese and Siska made contact with a woman who works at the day care as she was attempting to load groceries into her car in a nearby Walmart parking lot, police said.

Police said the woman reported that Seese and Siska were “demanding information on the child abuse incident.”

Siska allegedly used profanity to insult the woman, while yelling at her and interfering with her ability to leave the lot, police said.

The altercation was allegedly captured on surveillance footage.

Online court documents show Siska faces a felony charge of aggravated assault, as well as lesser charges of endangering the welfare of a child, disorderly conduct and harassment.

Seese faces a felony charge of criminal conspiracy, as well as lesser charges of endangering the welfare of a child, misdemeanor conspiracy and harassment.

Both Seese and Siska are to appear at for preliminary hearings June 12 before Magisterial District Judge Frederick Creany.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

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