MASON CITY, Iowa – A couple accused of child endangerment at their unregistered daycare are pleading not guilty.

Separate trials are scheduled for Peggy and Kyle McLaughlin. Both are charged with one count of child endangerment. Kyle Joseph McLaughlin, 55, will start his trial on December 10. The trial of Peggy Ann McLaughlin, 58, is scheduled to begin on December 3.

Charges were filed against the two over a bruise on a three-year-old boy that was visible for almost seven hours and a 20-month-old girl who suffered a broken leg. Both injuries allegedly happened while the children were being cared for by one or both McLaughlins.

Authorities say Peggy McLaughlin ran a registered daycare for 22 years until she and Kyle decided in 2015 they did not want to allow unannounced annual inspections of their Clear Lake home. Since then, authorities say they have operated an unregistered daycare that was only legally allowed to have a maximum of five children at any one time.