Five Mississippi day care employees were charged Thursday following a video that emerged of some of the workers scaring children with a frightening mask.
The Lil’ Blessings Childcare and Learning Center in Hamilton, Mississippi, was trending across Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook following a video of one of its employees scaring the children with a mask. Children are seen screaming, crying, and hiding in response to the white-faced mask, which resembled the Ghostface mask from the “Scream” franchise.
Sierra McCandless, Oci-Anna Kilburn, Jennifer Newman, and Shyenne Shelton were each charged with three counts of felony child abuse. Another former employee, Traci Hutson, faces two misdemeanor charges for failure to report abuse and simple assault against a minor.
The owner of the day care reportedly fired four of the individuals following the controversy.
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The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the county prosecuting attorney, and the district attorney all met with the affected parents Monday to discuss the charges against the employees, according to a statement from Sheriff Kevin Crook. At least one set of parents subsequently signed felony child abuse affidavits in Monroe County Justice Court. An arrest warrant on all five former employees followed.
“As a dad and as someone who has great compassion for those who can’t defend themselves, I admit it was very hard to watch these videos today; and my initial reaction was the same as most anyone else I would think …’they deserve to be charged,'” Crook wrote in a Facebook post on Oct. 6, shortly after an initial video was posted. “It made me sick at my stomach to think of the terror those kids were enduring. It still does.”
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According to a report, the Mississippi State Department of Health issued an emergency suspension of the facility’s license after learning of the incident. This acts as a cease and desist of operation while an investigation is ongoing.
The center had passed a recent inspection in July 2020 in order to maintain its license as a day care facility. However, a search on Google Maps has designated the center as “permanently closed.”
