Sartell Daycare Provider Enters Alford Guilty Plea in Child Abuse Case

(KNSI) — A woman accused of abusing a four-year-old in her at-home daycare has entered an Alford guilty plea in the case.

Prosecutors with the Stearns County Attorney’s Office say in August of 2025, police were notified of an assault that happened at a daycare facility in Sartell. In May, the child’s mother noticed a red mark on her ear, and the girl said her daycare provider, Sara Beckstrom, did it by pulling on her ear. The next week, Beckstrom sent a message to the girl’s parents asking about the mark. In June, Beckstrom told the parents about a mark on the girl’s shoulder, saying it was a mosquito bite. Two months later, while on vacation, the mother asked her daughter to try to go to the bathroom. The child responded by pinching her shoulder and saying, “go to the bathroom now,” and “don’t pee in your pull-up.” The child also told her mother that Beckstrom was mad at her and mimicked being punched in the stomach.

The criminal complaint says during an interview at the Child Advocacy Center, the child said “Sara hit my tummy” and hit her own stomach. She said Beckstrom pulled her ear and told her to “go on the potty.”

Beckstrom was charged with two counts of malicious punishment of a child.

An Alford plea allows Beckstrom to maintain her innocence while admitting the evidence is sufficient for a jury to convict her if there were to be a trial.

Sentencing is set for March 30th.

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