Day care workers under investigation after teacher shares video of alleged assault of 3-year-old
LELAND, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) – Two day care workers are under investigation after a mother claimed her 3-year-old son was assaulted twice.
The alleged assaults happened at Childcare Network in Leland, North Carolina.
Two teachers have been suspended after one allegedly sprayed a bottle of soapy water into the boy’s mouth and the other is accused of trapping him in a closet until he stopped crying.
A teacher reported the two incidents and recorded a video of the boy being trapped in the closet.
“It made me cry. I was in distress. I felt so bad for my baby,” said Leslie Hough, the boy’s mother.
Hough said the teacher told her the incidents happened in December and January. Hough has since pulled him out of day care.
“My child is traumatized from this. I mean, he’s not even wanting to go to day care,” Hough said.
Police are investigating, and Childcare Network is doing its own “internal review.”
“The safety and well-being of the children and families we serve is our highest priority,” Childcare Network said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring that every child in our care is in a safe, nurturing, and high-quality environment, and we will take every step necessary to uphold that commitment.”
Hough said her son did not deserve what happened to him.
“I think my son is one of the most loving kids you’ll ever be around. He’s full of energy,” she said. “How could you hurt a precious little boy that you are always in his face and you’re smiling and you’re ‘Hey Jamari. How you doing Jamari? Jamari, come with me,’ but the whole time you’re assaulting him.”
Hough said she would like to see the day care’s director fired and the teachers charged.
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