Day care

Toddlers locked in closet at Brooklyn Day Care Center

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• published: 13 Feb 2015
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Toddlers were locked in a closet at a day care center in Brooklyn, and it was caught on surveillance video. Parents who are now suing the facility say they know why it happened and it's beyond disturbing. "No parent should have to experience that," said Shavine Wilson, the toddler's mother. Shavine Wilson has a hard time talking the alleged abuse her 2-year-old son Xavier suffered at Pinocchio Children Palace in Brooklyn. Xavier and several other children were allegedly forced into a dark closet at their East Flatbush day care center as a form of punishment, much of it caught on a classroom surveillance camera. The 25-year-old teacher and her 34-year-old assistant allegedly said it was a survival game for their two-year-old students. "Before I found out about it, he would run to my bedroom and say, 'I'm so scared,' before then it was not the case, he was a very brave a very active child, so I'm like where is this coming from all of a sudden?" Wilson said. "I'm not going to talk to any people, I'm sorry," said the day care's owner. The day care's owner refused to talk about the case with me over the phone. But child services investigators say she caught the alleged abuse in June of last year, immediately reported it to the authorities, quickly fired the two teachers, and alerted parents. "We don't know if the teachers were involved in anything like this beforehand, whether background checks were conducted, so were exploring the possibility of a negligent hiring," Jeffrey A. Guzman, an attorney. Attorney Jeffrey Guzman represents Ms. Wilson, one of several parents who are now suing the daycare and the accused teachers. Mahli Mathias says his son is a victim and is also showing signs of trauma, a fear of the dark, and is afraid to be left alone. "It's creepy. It seems like that was something they practiced a lot because there was a chair in the closet," said Mahli Mathias, a father. "I would like to see the two teachers involved absolutely prosecuted to the fullest extent and they shouldn't be allowed to teach anymore, should not be around children," Wilson said.