CHARLESTON — Two families are suing Cross Lanes Childcare and Learning Center after a daycare worker physically and verbally abused infants in her care.
G.B. and H.M. were children enrolled in the two-year-old classroom taught by Jacklyn Williams, according to two complaints filed June 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Amy Williams, the director of the daycare, was also named as a defendant in the case.
Cary
H.M.'s parents, Craig Mosteller and Tawnya Mosteller, claim on May 14, a former employee of the daycare and Jacklyn Williams recorded audio footage from inside the classroom of the daycare teachers screaming at the infant children and Jacklyn Williams forcefully pulling H.M.'s hair using another child's hand.
G.B.'s parents, Sierra Brothers and LaKeisha Brothers, claim Sierra Brothers received a phone call on May 27 from an investigator with the state Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) who said G.B. may have been abused.
Elise Hill, a former Cross Lanes employee, had reported to the DHHR the alleged abuse by Jacklyn Williams.
On May 14, Aliehs Pitt, another former Cross Lanes employee, had videoed Jacklyn Williams verbally abusing G.B. by pushing him to the ground and forcefully grabbing his neck and face and screaming at him.
“Every parent has the right to expect that when they take their child to day care they are going to be treated with love and kindness," Attorney Michael Cary with Cary Law Offices said in a statement to The West Virginia Record. "They believe they have chosen a place that is safe warm and nurturing. Tragically, this was not the case for my client. Her child was choked around the face and neck”
The complaint states when Amy Williams discovered the video evidence of Jacklyn Williams' abuse, she called a staff meeting and threatened to terminate anyone who did not delete the video footage and threatened Pitt.
Amy Williams failed to follow West Virginia code by condoning an environment in which there was repeated abuse of minors, according to the suits.
Hill had reported Jacklyn Williams' abuse at lear 40 times to Amy Williams and others above her at Cross Lanes Childcare and Learning Center and Amy Williams failed to do anything about it, according to the suits.
The defendants were negligent and caused emotional distress to the infants and their families.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Cary and Ben Salango and Kristina Salango of Preston & Salango.
The cases are assigned to Circuit Judges Tera Salango and Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 21-C-522, 21-C-523