PRESCHOOL TEACHER DRUGS HER STUDENTS WITH SLEEPING MEDS

A preschool teacher allegedly drugged her toddler students with Sominex, an over-the-counter sleeping aid.

Deborah Gratz, 59, was arrested on felony charges of child endangerment Monday after police found evidence during a search of her Hollister, Calif., home.

A witness claimed to see Gratz placing a questionable substance into the drinking cups of several students, one and two-year-olds, at the Kiddie Academy preschool in Morgan Hill Friday morning, reported local Fox affiliate KTVU.

Administrators fired Gratz immediately and she admitted that the substance was Sominex, according to the school.

Sominex lulls users to sleep with the active compound diphenhydramine. It is intended for "occasional sleeplessness" for people over the age of 12 — not children's nap times.

Police were alerted to the incident Monday afternoon and Gratz, who has worked at Kiddie Academy for five years, was booked at the Santa Clara County main jail.

Authorities would have preferred being contacted the day of the incident.

"We certainly would have appreciated it," Sgt. Troy Hoefling told local ABC affiliate KGO, "we could have gone out there and obtained some of the statements of the people that witnessed it that day, we could have gathered some of the evidence."

Bianca Flores, whose son was in Gratz's care until two weeks ago, felt ill on hearing about the allegations.

"Sickening, sick to my stomach, I want to throw up," she said. "I'm not angry, I'm just sad, disturbing, I don't know what to think."

Flores' son suffers from seizures. Now she is taking him to the doctor to see if they are related to the sleeping aid.

Investigators are still working on Gratz's motive and whether she used sleeping aids on students before.

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