Two daycare instructors in South Carolina, USA, have been accused of instigating fights among children and failing to intervene in the violence. Serena Caldwell, 56, and Ericka Jones, 27, were found instructing three and four-year-olds to engage in physical acts such as slapping, pulling, and kicking each other.
The altercations were recorded on camera, and after complaints from other staff members and a review of security footage, both Caldwell and Jones were promptly dismissed from their positions. Sheriff Lee Foster reported that the situation involved 14 children aged three to four. The two charged individuals would frequently incite disputes by telling one child that another had been given preferential treatment at the center.
These provocations often resulted in confrontations among the children, during which, according to police, Jones and Caldwell allowed the violence to proceed without correction. A local media report included a statement from a parent of one of the children involved, who shared that their child was directed to hit another child and then encouraged to do it a second time.
The altercations were recorded on camera, and after complaints from other staff members and a review of security footage, both Caldwell and Jones were promptly dismissed from their positions. Sheriff Lee Foster reported that the situation involved 14 children aged three to four. The two charged individuals would frequently incite disputes by telling one child that another had been given preferential treatment at the center.
These provocations often resulted in confrontations among the children, during which, according to police, Jones and Caldwell allowed the violence to proceed without correction. A local media report included a statement from a parent of one of the children involved, who shared that their child was directed to hit another child and then encouraged to do it a second time.
