(Trends Wide) — Four former Mississippi daycare employees are facing child abuse charges after a viral video surfaced showing one of them wearing a Halloween mask scaring children in her care.
On Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors “met with the parents of the children involved in the incident at the Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center and informed them of the potential criminal charges that the law can bring.” would allow to file,” says a press release from the sheriff’s office.
“I admit it was very difficult to watch these videos,” Sheriff Kevin Crook wrote on social media about the incident. “It made me sick to my stomach to think of the terror those children were enduring.”
In the video, the employees are seen wearing a mask similar to that of the villain from the movie “Scream”, screaming in the faces of the children and chasing them around the room. Children can be heard screaming and crying in anguish.
According to court documents, the events occurred in mid-September and early October.
Sierra McCandless, 21; Oci-Anna Kilburn, 28; Jennifer Newman, 25, and Misty Shyenne Mills, 28, each face three counts of child abuse, according to court documents.
A fifth woman, Traci Hutson, faces charges of mandatory failure to report abuse and charges of simple assault on a minor, both misdemeanors, according to the release.
The sheriff’s office did not specify which of the women wore the mask or exactly what role each is charged with.
The Monroe Journal spoke with Sheila Sanders, the nursery’s owner for the past twenty years.
“The people who did those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and didn’t know they were doing that. I don’t condone that and never have. I just want to say that he has been taken care of,” Sanders said.
Newman posted on her Facebook page that she was the one behind the camera and that this was not the first time this had happened.
“I recorded for evidence and then the video was sent to the parents to show them how their children were treated,” he wrote. “I didn’t record this on video to be annoying. It wasn’t funny to me.”
Newman declined to speak to Trends Wide when asked for comment.
The suspects were arrested Wednesday, and the four people facing felony charges made their initial court appearances Thursday, according to the schedule set out in the release.
Court records show bail was set at $20,000 for McCandless and Kilburn and $15,000 for Newman and Mills. A county sheriff’s office employee told Trends Wide they were all out on bond.
Records also indicate that none of the women charged with felony offenses are employed at the daycare any longer.
Melissa Parker, director of the Mississippi State Department of Health Office of Licensing, said as of Thursday the daycare has not reopened.
Trends Wide has reached out to former nursery employees for comment.
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(Trends Wide) — Four former Mississippi daycare employees are facing child abuse charges after a viral video surfaced showing one of them wearing a Halloween mask scaring children in her care.
On Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors “met with the parents of the children involved in the incident at the Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center and informed them of the potential criminal charges that the law can bring.” would allow to file,” says a press release from the sheriff’s office.
“I admit it was very difficult to watch these videos,” Sheriff Kevin Crook wrote on social media about the incident. “It made me sick to my stomach to think of the terror those children were enduring.”
In the video, the employees are seen wearing a mask similar to that of the villain from the movie “Scream”, screaming in the faces of the children and chasing them around the room. Children can be heard screaming and crying in anguish.
According to court documents, the events occurred in mid-September and early October.
Sierra McCandless, 21; Oci-Anna Kilburn, 28; Jennifer Newman, 25, and Misty Shyenne Mills, 28, each face three counts of child abuse, according to court documents.
A fifth woman, Traci Hutson, faces charges of mandatory failure to report abuse and charges of simple assault on a minor, both misdemeanors, according to the release.
The sheriff’s office did not specify which of the women wore the mask or exactly what role each is charged with.
The Monroe Journal spoke with Sheila Sanders, the nursery’s owner for the past twenty years.
“The people who did those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and didn’t know they were doing that. I don’t condone that and never have. I just want to say that he has been taken care of,” Sanders said.
Newman posted on her Facebook page that she was the one behind the camera and that this was not the first time this had happened.
“I recorded for evidence and then the video was sent to the parents to show them how their children were treated,” he wrote. “I didn’t record this on video to be annoying. It wasn’t funny to me.”
Newman declined to speak to Trends Wide when asked for comment.
The suspects were arrested Wednesday, and the four people facing felony charges made their initial court appearances Thursday, according to the schedule set out in the release.
Court records show bail was set at $20,000 for McCandless and Kilburn and $15,000 for Newman and Mills. A county sheriff’s office employee told Trends Wide they were all out on bond.
Records also indicate that none of the women charged with felony offenses are employed at the daycare any longer.
Melissa Parker, director of the Mississippi State Department of Health Office of Licensing, said as of Thursday the daycare has not reopened.
Trends Wide has reached out to former nursery employees for comment.
