Operator of toddler boot camp sent to jail

A Maui woman who operated a potty-training “boot camp” has been sentenced to three months in jail.

After a trial, Wailuku District Judge Kelsey Kawano found Rebecca Stapp, 39, of Waiehu guilty of third-degree assault of a toddler.

A pediatrician testified that the 17-month-old boy’s injuries — to his buttocks, thighs, lower back and groin area — would have been inflicted using severe to moderate force. The child was examined May 2, 2013, at Kaiser Permanente’s Maui Lani Clinic.

Deputy Prosecutor Justine Hura said in her opening statement that the boy was fine the morning of May 1, 2013, when his mother dropped him off at Stapp’s rented home, where she ran Stapp’s Potty Boot Camp business. According to Hura, when the child’s mother picked him up, Stapp told her about black-and-blue marks on the toddler’s thighs near his groin. The mother pulled over on the way home to examine her son more closely and found a large bruise on his back, then reported the injuries to authorities.

Hura said Stapp told police several stories about what happened when she was interviewed later that day.

Third-degree assault is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

After being sentenced Thursday to three months, Stapp was freed for about a week to give her time to post $1,000 bail, if she chooses to appeal the decision.

The case drew attention to intensive potty training methods and the issue of how fast and how soon children can be toilet-trained.

Before her arrest, Stapp had touted potty-training more than 2,700 children as young as 8 months old — and in less than three days.

Her slogan was, “The first day of potty camp is the last day your child will wear a diaper!”

The demand for her services was high, with $600 sessions filling up months in advance. She also offered private classes, phone consultations and a money-back guarantee.