A Green Township, Ohio, mother is facing felony charges after police say she forced her way into her 5-year-old son’s daycare and took him, despite a civil protection order requiring her to stay at least 500 feet away. According to investigators, 34-year-old Jodi Littlefield pushed past staff at Arches Oak Hills Childcare on Thursday after they warned her not to enter, then sped away across the lawn with the boy in her car.
A countywide alert went out, and about an hour later Cincinnati police spotted her vehicle near Mount Adams. Police say she refused to stop, and officers used a Taser before taking her into custody. The child was found unharmed and reunited with his father. Littlefield now faces charges across two jurisdictions, including felony abduction, burglary and child endangerment.
The case raises hard questions that hit close to home for any family with young children. Protection orders are meant to be a safety net, and in this case the alert system moved quickly once the breach happened. But staff at the daycare had a legal order in hand and still couldn’t stop a determined parent at the door. What do you think daycares and schools should be able to do in that moment? We want to hear from parents and childcare workers on the Suncoast.
