Tag Archives: Daycare

Child Abuse, Child Exploitation, Cruelty, Day Care, Indifference, Law Enforcement

Daycare workers facing charges of felony child abuse after scaring children with masks

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.jpg photo of Day Care workers fired for scaring Children
4 Day Care workers each face three counts of felony child abuse, a 5th worker faces charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor.

Videos on Facebook show a day care worker wearing a Halloween mask and yelling at children

HAMILTON, MS  –  Four people linked to viral video footage of Mississippi daycare employees using a scary mask to frighten young children are facing charges of felony child abuse, and a fifth person faces two misdemeanor counts.

The daycare’s owner, Sheila Sanders, is not facing charges.  She has said that at least four of the employees were fired after the video came to light.

The videos, one filmed in September and another this month, were posted on social media.  They show a daycare worker at Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton, an unincorporated community in northeast Mississippi, wearing a Halloween mask similar to the one in the “Scream” movies and yelling at children who didn’t “clean up” or “act good.”

Children can be seen bawling, cowering in fear, and at times running from the masked employee.  Another employee gives directions, singling out which children have acted good or bad, The Associated Press reported.  The employee in the mask is shown screaming inches away from children’s faces, the video showed.

Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook said in a news release that four of the women each face three counts of felony child abuse.  A fifth woman, he says, faces charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor — both misdemeanors.

“They can’t use corporal punishment, so we think they were using the mask to try to scare the kids into doing what they were supposed to be doing,” Crook said.

Better Laws, Child Innocence, Coverup, Day Care, Indifference, Law Enforcement

CO Day Care Owner Facing Charges

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.jpg photo of day Care owner facing charges for exceeding limit on children allowed in care
Carla Faith of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Day care owner charged with Child
Abuse after allegedly hiding 26 children
behind false wall

Colorado Springs, CO  –  Earlier this week, Colorado Springs, Colorado, day care owner Carla Faith, 58, was charged with child abuse and attempt to influence a public servant after 26 toddlers were found behind a false wall at Faith’s day care facility last month.

The day care attached as a secondary building from Faith’s home underwent a welfare check on Nov. 13 when authorities came across two adults and more than 20 children under the age of three.  The search began after a series of complaints that Faith “was housing more children in their care than their licensed allowed,” the City of Colorado Springs said in a statement.

Colorado Springs officer Janel Langdon-Issac discovered the children and two adults in the basement of Faith’s home after hearing children’s music, despite Faith denying of having a lower ground floor, according to ABC affiliate KRDO.

During the search, Officer Jordan Parker bumped into a wall and felt it move, KRDO reported.  When Officer Parker pushed against the wall, authorities discovered a stairwell leading to a finished basement area.

“I spend a minute or two in my car with a tear in my eye because I’m trusting somebody else,” said Ethan Steinberg, an uncle of an enrolled child, in an interview with KRDO. “  It took about an hour until [police] realized where the kids were and that breaks my heart because I don’t know if my niece was down there.”

KRDO also reports that Faith was caught in a similar situation during the late ’90s but in California.

“It’s just not something that’s part of our application process, nor do we really have the authority to require that information,” said Erin Mewhinney, the Division Director Of Early Childhood Care and Learning, in an interview with KRDO.  “We’re working with the state board of human services to allow the department the authority to require child abuse and neglect records from other states of an applicant is coming in from another state.”

Faith’s day care license only permitted her to care for up to six children between the ages of zero and 13, more specifically, only two of these children could be under the age of two, according to an affidavit obtained by KRDO.

“It’s so hard to trust your children with people and we felt we could really trust them,” said parent Jeanette Conde to KRDO.  “ I’m completely betrayed, every parent that I’ve talked to, we all feel completely betrayed.”

Child Abuse, Child Innocence, Indifference, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

MO Daycare Worker Charged With Abuse Of Toddler

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.jpg photo of daycare worker charged with child abuse
Natalie Rhyneer was arrested and charged with two counts of child abuse.

Rolla, MO daycare employee arrested,
charged with Child Abuse

ROLLA, MO  –  A Rolla daycare employee has been arrested and charged after allegedly abusing a child at the Immanuel Lutheran School.

According to court documents, a detective with the Rolla Police Department was assigned to follow up on an allegation of child abuse on January 14th.

When the detective got to the school, he was met by a mother of a two-year-old boy. That mother told the officer her son had injuries when she picked him up on January 9th that he did not have when she had dropped him off.

The detective watched several days of surveillance video from the classroom where Natalie Rhyneer was supervising that boy.

According to court documents, officers say Rhyneer is seen twisting and flicking the boy’s ear in one of the videos.

In a different video, police say Rhyneer picked the boy up and rocked him while he was crying.

Court documents say in that video, Rhyneer can be heard saying “stop hurting me” to the child.  The boy cries but those cries are muffled as Rhyneer holds his face against her chest.  Police say the boy begins to struggle and pull away.  He lies on the floor, and police say Rhyneer covers his mouth.

While the two-year-old was lying on his stomach on the floor, police say Rhyneer is seen laying on top of him saying “stop it.”

Court documents say Rhyneer then places her hand on the back of his head, pulls a pillow to his face, and muffles his cries.

Police say the boy kicks and stiffens his legs and stops crying.  After a few seconds, police believe the boy regains consciousness and starts crying again.

Court documents say police took the video to a child abuse physician who said the video and images showed actions and injury consistent with suffocation.

Rhyneer was charged with two counts of child abuse and was arrested Thursday morning.  She posted a $50,000 bond.  There is a hearing set for April 2nd.

A Reporter with one person with the church who did not want to be identified.  That source said the congregation of the Immanuel Lutheran Church voted to shut the school down completely shortly after these allegations surfaced in January.

The closure of the school is something the congregation had thought about in previous years because of declining enrollment, according to that source.

The church did not have any official statement on the arrest. 

Child Abuse, Good Parenting, Indifference, Law Enforcement, Physical Abuse, StopChildAbuse

TX Child Suffers Violent Assault At DayCare

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.jpg photo of employee accused of Child Abuse at Daycare
Tracy Ludwig

North Texas Daycare Worker Charged
With Child Abuse

HASLET, TX (CBSDFW.COM)  –  A North Texas daycare worker faces a felony child abuse charge for a violent assault caught on video.

Those who run the Little Country Daycare and Preschool in Haslet are not talking about the arrest of employee, Tracy Ludwig.

They did say they were cooperating with authorities but could not comment any further.

The alleged abuse came to light when a 4-year-old’s mother demanded to see security video because no one could explain how he got serious facial injuries.

In the video an adult straddles a small boy on the floor and repeatedly slaps and pinches him.

Kindsie Andreason, the child’s mother, obtained the video of her son being assaulted inside the Little County Daycare and Preschool.

It was recorded on November 6 when he came home with welts and bruises that she was told were caused by him acting up.

Authorities investigated and arrested Ludwig for felony child abuse.

Andreason says she can only wonder if her son was assaulted more than once in his two years at the school before she removed him.

“Whenever we were watching the video outrage just went over me, I mean just to see your son being beat by a teacher that you pay to care for your kid while you’re at work.  It makes me sick,” said Andreason.

Andreason says she likely would’ve never known about the abuse if not for a teacher who alerted her.

She believes the daycare management tried to conceal what happened and that’s why she posted the video on social media and plans to sue the daycare.

This is not the first complaint about inappropriate discipline at Little Country Daycare and Preschool.  The CBS 11 I-Team found the center was issued four violations earlier this year.  Two of the violations were even considered “high risk.”

The violations stem from an incident in May when an employee force-fed a child, according to an inspection report provided by Texas Health and Human Services.

The report states after the child vomited, the employee yelled for the child to leave the room, then tossed a towel to the child to clean up the mess.

While staff informed the child’s parents about the incident, Little Country did not tell the state.  The lack of oversight resulted in a third violation.

A fourth violation was issued over missing paperwork.

State inspectors gave the daycare a week and a half to fix the issues.

A second report acknowledges Little Country complied with changes. Administrators acknowledged that children can’t be forced to eat and employees interacted with kids in a “positive manner,” according to an inspection report.

In Texas, licensed childcare facilities must be inspected at least once a year by The Department of Health and Human Services.

Information about these centers is posted online.

If centers face violations, they must also face more inspections.

Since 2015, Little Country has faced nine inspections.

A state database indicates the daycare was issued three violations in 2015 over record-keeping issues.

A look at a pair of inspection reports HERE

Better Laws, Child Abuse, Good Parenting, Physical Abuse, Shaken Baby Syndrome, StopChildAbuse

Every State Should Have Sophies Law

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.jpg photo of child abused by babysitter
Sophie was abused by her babysitter at just four months old.

NKY mom ‘heartbroken’ by 3-year-old’s case pushes for child abuse registry

BELLEVUE, KY  –  A Northern Kentucky mother said cases like her daughter’s, and a case from last week in Butler County, are the reason she’s fighting to create a child abuse registry in Kentucky.

The new 2018 bill has been dubbed ‘Sophie and Kylie Jo’s Law’

She said her daughter was abused by her babysitter at just four months old.

Jennifer Diaz said her heart is broken for the family of Hannah Wesche.

Sheriff: 3-year-old ‘hanging on by a thread;’ babysitter charged with abuse

She worked with lawmakers in Kentucky last year to help create a child abuse registry, but the bill died.

Now, she is working with them again and hopes a new bill could make it a reality.

“Society needs to know who these horrible human beings are,” Diaz said.

Jennifer and her daughter, Sophie, have been sharing a story of abuse for years, hoping to save young ones from being hurt by someone they trust.

“We were fortunate that, you know, we’re survivors.  My child is a survivor,” Diaz said.

Sophie is in preschool these days, but she was four months old when her babysitter, Desiree Rankin, abused her, sending her to the hospital.

Rankin was convicted and sentenced in the case.

Jennifer said her heart broke when she saw 3-year-old Hannah’s story.

Investigators said Wesche was abused in Butler County on Thursday, to the point she isn’t expected to survive.

She’s currently in intensive care at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and her family says she is brain dead.

Hannah’s babysitter, Lindsay Partin, was arrested but is out of jail.

Jennifer said she prays for Hannah’s family.

“You fight, you fight and get that justice that child deserves and just keep fighting,” Diaz said.

Diaz and her daughter are fighting too, to stop babysitters who’ve been convicted in similar crimes from ever doing it again.

Last year, Diaz worked with lawmakers in Kentucky to help create a child abuser registry.

She testified in Frankfort, but the 2017 bill died.

Now, she’s working with lawmakers in the 2018 session.

She testified just last week, with Sophie by her side.

“I’ll go 100 times if I have to, you know, whatever it takes to pass this law, it’s going to get passed,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer said the registry would operate much like the sex offender registry, with information online.

She said there are some big hurdles ahead, including figuring out ways to pay for the registry everyone can agree on.

The new bill has been dubbed “Sophie and Kylie Jo’s Law,” in honor of the two girls who were abused by their babysitters.

It has now been referred to the House Rules Committee.