A court has dismissed charges against a childcare worker accused of assaulting children at a north Canberra centre.
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Samantha Grutzner, 30, was among four childcare workers charged for using excessive force on children as young as one at the Northside Community Service Civic Early Childhood Centre.
Ms Grutzner pleaded not guilty to four common assaults in the ACT Magistrates Court.
The charges related to four incidents witnesses observed at the childcare centre in 2013 and 2014.
In one incident, Ms Grutzner picked a crying child up then forced her back down onto the ground "in a really hard manner", court documents said.
On a separate occasion, she was allegedly seen to grab a child by the forearm and drag her several metres outside.
Another time, she allegedly grabbed a child in a cot by the wrists and reefed her onto the floor.
Witnesses said Ms Grutzner was also seen to have picked a child up by the wrists and pull him up, before grabbing him around the waist.
Defence barrister Jack Pappas this week made an application for the charges to be dismissed on grounds of mental impairment, noting Ms Grutzner had a mild intellectual development disorder.
He argued the alleged assaults were at the lowest end of the scale and the allegations were historic.
Mr Pappas said his client had consistently denied the conduct and there had been no other similar allegations against her.
Prosecutor Jane Campbell agreed the alleged assaults were at the lower end of the spectrum but said there needed to be consequences for the behaviour.
She said Ms Grutzner could not now say she didn't understand her obligations as an employee due to her mental impairment.
There would be no benefit to the community if the charges were dismissed, Ms Campbell said.
Magistrate Karen Fryar noted the alleged victims were young children, who she described as "some of the most vulnerable members of society".
But she agreed the conduct was at the lowest end of the scale for assault and said it could not be assumed there would be a finding of guilt if the case went ahead.
She said psychological assessment reports showed Ms Grutzner's mental impairment had an extensive impact on her life and functioning, although it did not mean she was at increased risk of causing harm to others.
Ms Fryar found there would be nothing gained for the community, or the defendant, if the matters were pursued in the criminal justice system.
She took into account the woman sought ongoing psychological help and had the support of a loving family.
In addressing any community concern that might arise over the defendant keeping her qualifications to continue work in the childcare sector, Ms Fryar said: "I note that the relevant commissioner has a broad discretion when assessing candidates, and that suitability, or not, is not necessarily reliant on whether a conviction is recorded or not."
Ms Fryar dismissed all four charges against Ms Grutzner unconditionally.
One of the workers, Una Masters, 61, was handed a 12-month good behaviour order and fined $400 after she pleaded guilty to inappropriately disciplining children at the centre.
Two other workers remain before the courts.
Police began to probe allegations of assault after reports were made to management in April last year.
The allegations, first raised in 2014, took some time to make their way from the centre to management.
A series of investigations were launched, and Northside Community Services said it had moved to ensure it did everything it could to avoid a repeat at any of its centres.
