Tuesday, August 21, 2012

3 Delaware Daycare Employees Arrested For Encouraging Toddlers To Fight

August 20, 2012 11:58 PM



By Todd Quinones

DOVER, Del. (CBS)
– Three daycare employees were arrested on Monday for allegedly watching and encouraging toddlers to fight each other while under their care.

According to Dover Police, three employees from the Hands of Our Future Daycare in Delaware were arrested after a cell phone video showed employees watching and encouraging two 3-year-olds fight each other.

Tiana Harris, 19, Lisa Parker, 47, and Estefania Myers, 21, were charged with Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Reckless Endangering and Conspiracy for the incident, which occurred in March of 2012 and was captured on cell phone video.

In the video, police say one child can be heard crying and yelling, ‘He’s pinching me,’ while a daycare worker responds, ‘No pinching, only punching.’”

“Clearly one of the children is crying and does not want to continue on and he is pushed back into the fray by one of the adults,” Dover Police Captain Tim Stump said.

Cristyl Slack says her four-year-old daughter was in the room when the fight happened in March.

“That pissed me off just because I feel if my daughter is around anything I should have known that day,” Slack said.

The fight video is not being shown to parents or the public because police say it is evidence.

“I can’t ever believe in a million years. I mean I would have to see the proof to believe it,” parent Amy Bickling said.

Hands of Our Future Daycare, located at 868 S. State St., has had its City of Dover Business License suspended pending a hearing.

The Dover Police Department arranged for a meeting Monday night for parents or legal guardians of the daycare’s children to answer questions and help parents find new daycare arrangements.

Efforts to reach the daycare owner were not successful.

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