According to authorities, a fifth person is charged with two misdemeanour counts of child abuse and four others are charged with felony child abuse in connection with viral video footage showing daycare staff in Mississippi scaring young children with a scary mask.
The films, which were both shot this month but one in September, were shared on social media.
They show a day care worker at Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton, an unincorporated northeast Mississippi community, wearing a Halloween mask and yelling at children who didn’t “clean up” or “act good. ”
On the video, kids can be seen and heard sobbing and even running away from a worker wearing a mask as another worker delivers instructions indicating which kids behaved well or poorly.
On occasion, the video showed the employee with the mask shouting mere centimetres from little children’s faces.
Four of the women are accused of felony child abuse on three counts each, according to a news release from Monroe County Sheriff Kevin Crook. A fifth woman, he says, faces charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor — both misdemeanours.
Sheila Sanders, the proprietor of the daycare, is not being prosecuted.
She has claimed that once the video surfaced, at least four of the employees were dismissed.
According to Crook, the parents of the children met with his office, the county prosecutor, and the district attorney earlier this week to discuss the situation. On Wednesday, at least one set of parents signed felony child abuse complaints, he said, adding a judge issued warrants Thursday for the women.
According to Crook, all five are locals.
He continued that it seems like their goal was to alter behaviour using the mask.
Because they are unable to use physical punishment, Crook explained, “we believe they were utilising the mask to try to frighten the kids into doing what they were supposed to be doing.”
According to the sheriff’s statement, Shyenne Shelton, 28, Oci-Anna Kilburn, 28, Jennifer Newman, 25, and Sierra McCandless, 21, are each charged with three counts of felony child abuse.
He stated that Traci Hutson, a different lady, is charged with simple assault against a juvenile and failing to report abuse by a required reporter, both misdemeanours.
Bond amounts were determined during a hearing to be $22,000 for McCandless, Kilburn, and Newman, and $16,000 for Shelton. Hutson’s bond details weren’t readily accessible.
A parent named Katelyn Johnson told ABC News that she was astounded by the videos.
She stated that her two-year-old kid is still exhibiting PTSD symptoms and has trouble sleeping through the night, and she added of the video, “It’s not a joke. And there’s no humour in it.
“Their behaviour was terrible whether or not they were wearing masks. My heart rate increased. My heart ached for my child. I was angry,” she said.
According to Crook, the grand jury will finally review the felony allegations to see whether there is sufficient proof to issue official indictments, which can result in court proceedings.
“It’s really unfortunate that it occurred and that this is where we are. I hope people take something away from it,” Crook remarked. It can split a community in two. Everybody who was a part of it knew each other in some shape or form.
There are many emotions to consider, and our task is to cut through them in order to discover and explain the facts.
US childcare employees are charged and accused of frightening infants with masks.
About Author
