Mississippi day care workers to be investigated for scaring toddlers

Four former Mississippi daycare workers are now under investigation by the state and county sheriff’s office.

Videos posted to Facebook show an employee of the Lil’ Blessings Child Care & Learning Center in Hamilton wearing a Halloween mask and screaming inches away from the children in their care.

One of the horrifying videos that surfaced on social media earlier last week shows the employee, who identified himself as “CeeCee” in a recent apology video, grabbing children who ran away in panic.

Liz Sharlot, director of communications at the Mississippi Department of Health, confirmed to the… Monroe Diary that the incident is being investigated.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office previously said they were initially investigating the incident to see if criminal charges could be filed against the employees.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.

Several students were seen covering their faces while another was hysterical when CeeCee got close to her face

A little girl trying to eat her lunch was startled when a nurse in a spooky Halloween mask approached her and screamed in her face

Sheila Sanders, who has worked at the daycare since 1987 and has owned it for the past 20 years, said she was not aware of the videos until they were circulated online on Oct. 5.

“I contacted my licensure and she got involved,” Sanders said.

“The people who committed those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and didn’t know they were. I don’t approve of that and never have. I just want to say it was taken care of.’

One video was reportedly shot in September, while another was shot on October 4, the day before both were posted to Facebook.

“No one came out to tell me it happened in September,” she said.

Local parents immediately expressed their distaste for the videos, while still supporting the daycare.

Kimberly Smith, whose child is featured in a video, said she knows “100 percent” Sanders was unaware of the situation.

“The witch hunt that’s going on on her and the others that’s still here really needs to stop,” Smith said. “Was the situation that arose terrible? Absolute. But if this nursery were to be shut down and vilified others who are still there, absolutely not.

‘Am I okay with what happened to the extent of what happened? Absolutely not, but I know she took care of it, and my babies are safe here.”

Another teacher stood by and pointed to the ‘behaving toddlers’ that CeeCee had to tackle

You can see CeeCee pointing at the kids as she asks a fellow teacher if her student was misbehaving

The evil stunt started after CeeCee bought the mask from Dollar General in an attempt to scare her colleague.

“Long story short, I bought the masks to end up scaring her and they were used inappropriately,” CeeCee said in a 19-minute apology video.

“But what you all didn’t see was after I left the room, I took it off and went back to class…and I said, ‘CeeCee has the monster. It’s not coming back.’ And they would hug me. I’ve known those kids all their lives.’

She worked at the facility for four years after first starting when she was 16.

In CeeCee’s video, she explained that the toddlers reacted emotionally because “they’re kids.”

“I’ll give an example, I know it seems that way, but it doesn’t have to be,” CeeCee explained.

“So I remember last Christmas there were kids taking Christmas pictures and the Grinch was hiding out there in the bush and it would come out, scare the kids, and they would run – and people thought that was funny.. Essentially It’s the same. It’s the same thing.’

She later added, “They knew it was me, and they had the reaction they had because they’re kids and that’s it.”

CeeCee didn’t post the video to her personal social media account, but through an outside user named Richard McCandless.

The video has been reposted by Ashley Wood of Hamilton whose son went to daycare. Wood stood up for CeeCee, asking the public to stop their defamation and death threats against the former nanny

Terrified children were seen trying to run away from the nanny while avoiding their sobs

The video has been reposted by Ashley Wood, whose son went to daycare. Wood stood up for CeeCee and asked the public to stop the slander and death threats.

“There will be consequences, but it’s not up to us to judge anyone or make someone feel so alone and down,” Wood wrote on Facebook. ‘[It] is not true. i don’t wish cece [sic] not bad for her. Was it wrong YES. I’m not saying it isn’t and she knows it—and that’s what she’s trying to achieve with everyone she really regrets.”

Another woman with a child at a Mississippi daycare center reposted the horrific images of CeeCee frightening toddlers on Facebook after it was removed.

Kelsey Tackett shared the video online while calling for the daycare to be closed.

‘Now Lil’ Blessings – IF THIS HAD BEEN. MY CHILD; MAY ALSO LOCK ME UP!!! THIS IS INVALID!!!! I feel so sorry for those babies and those moms who have to comfort their children as they try to sleep tonight and through the nights,” Tackett wrote.

‘Not to mention they have to find a new place for their child – excuse my language, but I BE DANG*****!! This made me SICK!!!’

A statement, posted to mixed comments, from collaborator Jennifer Kayla Newman

Monroe County officials say they are investigating the videos from the daycare

Jennifer Kayla Newman, a nurse who claims to have filmed the videos, shared a lengthy response to Facebook on Thursday, saying she recorded the incidents not because she thought it was funny, but because she was trying to show parents her co-workers’ actions. .

“A few weeks ago some girls from the nursery bought Halloween masks to scare the kids, they did it and I never got it on video,” she said.

The childcare worker went on to claim that her idea of ​​recording came from previous “claps on the wrist” received from her colleagues about issues she brought to the owners without proof.

“When I heard she was going to do it again, I recorded to get the proof and then the video was sent to the parents to show them how their child was being treated,” the woman wrote.

“I didn’t film this for sh**s and giggles. It wasn’t funny to me. I didn’t have any fun with this. The one yelling in the kids’ faces is NOT me. The one standing next to the screaming girl is NOT me. That smile in the video is NOT me,” Newman said on Facebook.