Florida mom finds toddler LOCKED alone inside daycare after she showed up late for pickup
Florida mom Stephanie Martinez is pursuing legal action against the KinderCare Learning Center located at West Sunrise Boulevard after she found her two-year-old daughter alone and locked inside a room at the daycare center on Tuesday night, February 15. Martinez came to pick up her daughter Anastasia Brathwaite a few minutes late and found her standing on a chair and crying while peering through the door's window.
Martinez called 911 and it was only after the fire department arrived and forced the building's doors open, that she was able to reunite with her daughter. "She is inside the daycare. She just came up to the door," Martinez told the operator. When asked, "She is inside by herself?" she replied, "Yes, she's crying. She's inside by herself." As per the report, the assistant director of the school and a teacher closed the school, locked the doors, and left at 6:20 pm, while the police were dispatched at 6:28 pm.
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"The report detailed the series of events recounted by Nichole Burrillo, the assistant director of the daycare. Burrillo told police that she and Lucilena Viggiano, a teacher, were the last employees at the center and were responsible for closing. Burrillo said Viggiano was in charge of using a tablet device to check out all of the children from the center before closing. Both employees checked the inside of the school and locked the doors. Burillo said she and Viggiano left the school at 6:20 pm. The report states that Martinez arrived at 6:28 pm to pick up her daughter. Martinez had not received a call from the school to pick up the child," reports Local 10. Burrillo and Viggiano have since been placed on administrative leave.
"At KinderCare, nothing is more important to us than the safety of the children in our care. While we’re thankful the child was quickly found and was safe, this incident should not have happened. We take all concerns about children's safety seriously and follow a specific protocol anytime an issue is raised. Part of that protocol includes notifying our agency partners, like state licensing and Child Protective Services, as we did in this case. As these investigations take place, we'll also take immediate steps to ensure this kind of thing doesn't happen again. All of our teachers and staff will be retrained on proper child supervision. They'll also receive additional training on child care best practices as part of the curriculum we already had planned for all teachers and staff at our centers across the country for Professional Development Day on Monday," read KinderCare's statement.
Meanwhile, Martinez's attorney released a statement that said, "We are outraged that KinderCare endangered the life of a child by not observing any safety protocols that led to a two-year-old being abandoned and locked inside a darkened facility. Making the whole situation worse was that Ms. Martinez was forced in horror to witness her child in peril and it was not until law enforcement and the fire department were called that the toddler was then extricated through extreme measures. The entire event could've been avoided if KinderCare did not abandon their responsibilities and the toddler. What adds insult to injury is that nobody at KinderCare bothered to answer the phone in this emergency situation, they failed to apologize for their bad behavior and they failed to provide anything but a bad excuse for what happened. We will be filing a lawsuit to provide justice through the court system and to ensure that nothing like this happens to another child."
Samantha Scaramellino, Martinez's best friend and the child's aunt posted the video of the incident on Facebook with the caption, "I still can't believe this even happened. Tonight my two year old niece was left in the daycare center after they closed. My best friend who is like my sister went to pick up her daughter from the Kindercare on Sunrise and Nob Hill. To find the building closed with Lights turned off and all. I'm the only other person allowed for pick up. She called me to ask if I had her or if I got a call. I hadn't heard anything."
"She's super traumatized. It's not fair. It's the worst feeling ever. You feel helpless," Martinez told NBC 6. "You can't do anything to console her. She was stressed out and definitely crying the whole time she was there by herself. Nobody should ever go through this. You pay for trust and they completely voided that. I have no words, I'm still in shock right now."
She also revealed that because the child was left in the dark, she is now having a difficult time sleeping. "I just want them to be held accountable. I don't want this to ever happen to anyone else," Martinez added. The Broward Sheriff's Office Child Protection Services and Plantation Police are investigating the incident.