WASHINGTON, Ill. – A civil suit in Tazewell County is bringing to light allegations of negligence, including physical abuse, at a Washington day care.
Two mothers and their children filed suit Thursday afternoon against Childtime ChildCare, Inc., and its Childtime Learning Centers in Washington. The official complaint included more than a dozen counts of negligence and negligent hiring.
Childtime offers daycare for infants through school-aged children.
25 News spoke with the assistant director of Childtime Learning Center in Washington, but they would not comment on the allegations.
Dudley & Lake Attorney Kevin Golden represents the two families whose children attended the day care in Washington in the spring of this year. Golden said their complaints include drug and alcohol use, and physical abuse, including harsh handling of children.
“I think there’s a lack of supervision and a lack of control of what’s going on in that facility, so not only the individual employees but the actual management of the facility is lacking,” Golden said.
The lawsuit claims that one employee, Laura Ledbetter, would show up to work with the smell of alcohol on her breath. Ledbetter was an assistant teacher in the 1-year-old room.
Documents in the case also accuse Ledbetter of abusing some children by pinching, yanking, dragging, and gripping their wrists so hard their fingertips would turn purple. One claim from May 19 reports that Ledbetter picked up one child and slammed him back down on the ground after he resisted her.
The lawsuit says that children in her care would exhibit signs of fear around her, specifically when left alone with her for diaper changes.
“I think what’s disturbing is how young the children are and defenseless in the sense of what was going on there,” Golden said.
Childtime of Washington utilizes an app called “SproutAbout” for live classroom video streaming that parents can access at any time.
According to the suit, Director Kasi Virgil admitted the alleged assault on May 19 was inappropriate after a mother brought the video to her attention. It also stated that Ledbetter left for lunch the next day and never came back.
Golden is seeking monetary damages, but added that the parents want to ensure the alleged abuse never happens again at the facility.
“I think they realized that there was no action being taken by the management, this was a continuous behavior that was going on at the facility, and that other kids will be at risk in the future if things don’t change,” Golden said.
Golden filed suit on Thursday afternoon on behalf of his clients and says Childtime likely won’t see the papers until sometime next week.
Golden’s clients took their kids out of the Childtime facility, but their attorney said trusting another daycare with their children has been difficult.
“They’re working parents, so they have to find ways to be able to have their children taken care of during the day, and right now, that’s a very difficult decision to make because of what happened to their kids at this facility,” Golden said.
The lawsuit indicated the Department of Children and Family Services was called on May 20, the day after the alleged assault. Golden said he doesn’t believe the family filed a police report.
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