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A 41-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse after witnesses reported an alleged assault involving a 22-month-old girl at a park in Lincoln on Monday.<\/p>\n
The Lincoln Police Department said in a Thursday statement that its officers responded to Markham Ravine Park<\/a> on Toyon Circle for a welfare check after a caller reported seeing a child being abused by an adult woman Monday.<\/p>\n Two witnesses followed the suspect \u2014 identified as Suzanne Michelle Buhler, 41, of Lincoln \u2014 to a nearby residence, where officers continued their investigation.<\/p>\n Officers later arrested Buhler and booked her on felony child abuse charges, police said. Jail records show Buhler was released that day. No case had been filed in Placer County Superior Court as of Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n The victim\u2019s mother, whom The Sacramento Bee is not identifying because her child was a victim of abuse, had hired Buhler on Care.com after her previous nanny left for cosmetology school.<\/p>\n She described Buhler as \u201cNanny McPhee<\/a>,\u201d stating that her nearly 2-year-old daughter thrived with Buhler, who started coming around the house in December. She said her daughter learned her ABCs and how to count to 10 with Buhler\u2019s help.<\/p>\n But around February, as the family began potty training, the mother said she noticed changes in her daughter\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say she got a little bit aggressive,\u201d the mother told The Sacramento Bee. \u201cKind of biting females, not males. I\u2019m just all putting this in perspective now, like I didn\u2019t see this until now.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Monday\u2019s incident happened, the parents said.<\/p>\n According to the parents, two landscapers noticed her daughter screaming at the park.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could see something like a rolling, like something not normal,\u201d the mother said of the incident involving her daughter. She accused the babysitter of throwing her daughter off the slide and punching her stomach area.<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughter pooped her pants,\u201d the mother said. \u201cSue was pissed off that she pooped her pants.\u201d<\/p>\n The mother said one of the landscapers began recording the incident.<\/p>\n The child\u2019s father, who later watched footage taken at the park, said his daughter\u2019s legs were in the air as she was being changed on the grass. He said that in the video, Buhler had her right arm raised as she held the child down.<\/p>\n \u201cShe raised her hand above her head and had significant force coming down on my baby\u2019s sweet face,\u201d the father said.<\/p>\n Police said the child had visible injuries consistent with the reported assault.<\/p>\n Investigators said Buhler had previously advertised nanny services on multiple websites and apps, including Care.com and Facebook.<\/p>\n Capt. Zach Eaton, a spokesperson for the Lincoln Police Department, said officers nearly three years ago investigated an incident in which a child was reported injured while in Buhler\u2019s care.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the evidence available then, detectives determined the case did not meet the legal threshold of probable cause to make an arrest or to proceed with criminal filing,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a result of the new allegations in this current case, we are re-opening the 2023 investigation and have submitted it to the Placer County District Attorney\u2019s Office for review.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lincoln Police Department said it takes allegations of child abuse extremely seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting children is a top priority, and we will pursue a thorough investigation and hold offenders accountable,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n Anyone with information related to the case or prior contact involving Buhler\u2019s child care services was urged to contact the Lincoln Police Department investigations division at 916-645-4047.<\/p>\n This story was originally published March 19, 2026 at 2:05 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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