CHARLESTON – Three more lawsuits have been filed against a Cross Lanes daycare center for the abuse and mistreatment students.
The three latest complaints were filed November 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against Amy Williams, Amber Seiler and Dreamland Development LLC doing business as Cross Lanes Child Care and Learning Center.
These lawsuits follow nine others filed in the last two weeks.
Cary
| Courtesy photo
“We are not only filing complaints; we are joining forces with parents and caregivers to ensure that those responsible for any harm at Cross Lanes Day Care are held accountable,” attorney Michael Cary told The West Virginia Record. “This is about protecting our children and ensuring they feel safe and supported every single day.”
On October 27, the West Virginia Department of Human Services placed the facility on provisional license status and reduced the facility’s capacity to zero.
Williams is the director of the child care center, and Seiler is a former daycare worker at the facility who taught F.B.’s three-to-four-year-old classroom.
Seiler, 29, of Kenova has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor battery in addition to a felony count of battery and assault of a disabled child. She currently is being held at South Central Regional Jail on a $50,000 bond along with two $1,500 bonds for the misdemeanors. Seiler waived her preliminary hearing, and her criminal case now will go to the grand jury.
Each of the complaints say eyewitness testimony shows Seiler physically and emotionally abused children in her classroom.
In the first new complaint filed by Joshua and Angelika McClure as the parents of a boy identified only as C.M., who was enrolled in Seiler’s four-year-old classroom.
The complaint says the parents picked up C.M. at the facility on October 13 to find he had a large bruise on his left shoulder. They say they never were informed of any incident that day where he would have received an injury. The boy also told his parents Seiler slapped him on the hand on at least one occasion, and he says he saw Seiler spit on another child in the classroom and abuse two others in his presence.
“The child has experienced more emotional outbursts since attending the day care facility and is constantly worried about ‘being good’ out of fear of being punished,” the complaint states.
In the second new complaint filed by Brianna Turner as the mother of a boy identified only as S.F., who told his mother he experienced and witnessed Seiler being abusive in the classroom.
“When shown a picture of defendant Seiler, the minor child stated, ‘She is bad’ and then proceeded to stick his hand out and stated, ‘When you’re bad, this happens’ while smacking his hand and face,” the complaint states. “The minor child also exhibits episodes of outbursts and unusual behavior after he started attending the day care facility.
“Plaintiff S.F. would be terrified and inconsolable when he saw defendant Seiler but excited and happy to see other teachers and even begged to go into a different classroom when defendant Seiler was working.”
Turner also says she picked up her son multiple times to find significant injuries such as large abrasions. She also says she never was informed of any incidents that caused the injuries.
“Even more troubling, the minor child was so afraid to ask defendant Seiler to use the restroom that he would no longer ask to use the restroom but would instead urinate on himself and wear his soiled clothes the entire day so he would not be physically abused for asking to use the restroom,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff Turner would ask the minor child about his day at school, and he would exhibit fear and apprehension when talking about defendant Seiler.”
The complaint also says the repeated exposure to “such horrific conduct” affected S.F., who has internalized and replicated this behavior in other environments.
In the third new complaint filed by Tiffany Myers as the mother of a boy identified only as D.P., who has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder and Overacting Bladder Disorder.
Myers, who was an employee of the day care facility, says she supplied extra clothing and would drop her son off wearing diapers to help with the bladder issue. She also stressed the need to allow him to use the restroom often so he would not have accidents throughout the day.
“Instead, plaintiff’s minor child was denied access to the restroom by defendant Seiler on countless occasions,” the complaint states. “One particular instance plaintiff Myers went to defendant Seiler’s classroom to check on her child D.P. and found him standing in front of the restroom door. When she asked him why he didn’t use the restroom, he looked nervously at defendant Seiler and whispered, ‘I can’t.’
“Plaintiff Myers reported her concern to defendant Amy Williams and was brushed off and stated that, ‘Changing diapers is above Amber’s paygrade’ and that plaintiff Myers needed to ‘go to her as a parent.’”
Myers said she often picked up her son at the end of the day to find him “soaked in urine and defecation.” She says he also began defecating in his pants frequently while under Seiler’s care, something he hadn’t done beforehand.
“When plaintiff Myers brought her concerns to Director Williams about the lack of supervision of her child and his being denied to use the restroom by defendant Seiler, Williams confronted Mrs. Myers in front of other minor children and employees and began yelling, ‘One more work about Amber, and you’re fired!’” the complaint states of her April 1 firing. “She then proceeded to scream, ‘Get your shit, get your stupid fucking kids and get the fuck out!’ when terminating plaintiff Myers for reporting her concerns about defendant Seiler’s behaviors to defendant Williams.”
The complaints also say recorded audio footage from inside Seiler’s classroom has Seiler screaming at children, including:
X “Put your heads down now!” followed by crying.
X “You don’t tell Ms. Mary no! Do you understand me?”
X Slamming an item down to create a loud noise before yelling at an unknown child that he “will not get any special treats or toys or have any fun this week.”
X Seiler is heard slapping a child and demanding the children need to “keep their heads down.”
“Witness accounts reveal consistent incidents where defendant Seiler’s behavior crossed acceptable boundaries, manifesting in ways that caused both immediate and lasting distress to the children under her care and further suggest a deliberate misuse of authority and a betrayal of the trust placed in educators to create a safe and nurturing environment,” the complaints state. “Defendant Amber Seiler’s conduct was atrocious, intolerable and so extreme and outrageous as to exceed the bounds of decency.”
The complaints also say multiple employees reported Seiler’s abuse to Williams, who responded with intimidation tactics or outright dismissal of the allegations.
“According to multiple accounts, when staff members brought forward their concerns about the ongoing abuse, defendant Williams would either threaten them with termination or deliberately ignore their reports, thereby creating a culture of fear and silence,” the complaints state. “Even more troubling, defendant Williams has terminated former employees for reporting the abuse witnessed by defendant Seiler and other employees inside the classrooms and also enforced a ‘no phone policy’ for all employees working inside classrooms to further hide the abuse of the minor children that took place inside the daycare center’s classrooms.”
The complaints say daycare employee Mary Adkins was present and witnessed abuse of children but failed to report it as required by state law. It also says Adkins shared the audio footage with the parent of another child. That parent posted the recording on Facebook, according to the complaint.
The complaints accuse the defendants of negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and a tort of outrage. It also accuses the facility of negligent hiring, negligent supervision and negligent retention.
The plaintiffs say their children have suffered physical and emotional harm, including pain and suffering, emotional and mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, annoyance, shame, inconvenience and other damages.
The complaints seek compensatory and punitive damages as well as any other relief.
The plaintiffs are being represented by Cary of Cary Law Office in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers.
Cary filed two other lawsuits earlier this week against the defendants.
In the first one, a legal guardian said a child was physically and emotionally abused. The second lawsuit was filed by the mother of a special needs child with similar claims.
Cary previously represented other parents who sued the same daycare center in 2021. The facility denied those allegations and filed a counterclaim against those parents accusing them of defamation on social media. An undisclosed settlement was reached in that case.
Sunday’s DoHS decision followed serious non-compliance with state child care licensure regulations, a DoHS release says.
“The action today will result in the center not being able to serve any families or children while it’s under investigation,” DoHS Secretary Cynthia Persily, Ph.D., said in a press release. “Our priority remains the protection of children, and we are taking every step necessary to uphold that commitment. We understand the significant impact this closure may have on families, and we are here to support them in finding safe, alternative child care arrangements.”
According to the release, the DoHS Bureau for Social Services found evidence of violations concerning both physical and psychological punishment of children and a failure to meet mandatory reporting and supervisory standards.
Those include subjecting a child to physical punishment, engaging in psychological punishment, failing to report serious occurrences within the required timeframe and failing to supervise teaching and support staff and to conduct regular staff meetings.
“Our children are our most precious and vulnerable members of society,” Cary previously told The Record. “When they are harmed, it is our duty to stand up for them and make sure their voices are heard.
“Protecting children is not only a legal obligation, it is a moral imperative that defines our commitment to a safer future. I will stand for justice and I will stand for our children.”
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers 24-C-1244 (McClure), 24-C-1246 (Turner) and 24-C-1248 (Myers)