Ex-Day Care Workers Charged After Scaring Children With ‘Scream’ Mask - The New York Times

U.S.|Ex-Day Care Workers Charged After Scaring Children With ‘Scream’ Mask

Four erstwhile time attraction halfway employees successful Mississippi person been charged with felony kid maltreatment successful transportation with videos that showed an worker successful a Halloween disguise scaring young children, the authorities said. The disguise was akin to that of the serial-killer quality successful the “Scream” movies.

Another erstwhile worker was arrested connected 2 misdemeanor charges.

Sierra McCandless, Oci-Anna Kilburn, Jennifer Newman and Misty Shyenne Mills were each charged with 3 counts of felony kid maltreatment connected Wednesday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Traci Hutson was charged with nonaccomplishment to study maltreatment by a mandatory newsman and elemental assault, which are misdemeanors.

It was not wide connected Thursday if they had lawyers.

Three videos, shared connected societal media connected Oct. 5, amusement the children being frightened portion they cry, scream, shingle oregon effort to tally distant wrong the Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center successful Hamilton, Miss., which is astir 170 miles northeast of Jackson, the authorities capital.

In 1 of the videos, a pistillate worker donned the skeletal mask, akin to that of the serial-killer quality “Ghostface” successful the “Scream” fearfulness movies, arsenic she walked astir the halfway and confronted respective preschool-age children. Another worker said the children had been behaving badly. The masked worker startled the children who were inches distant from her face, with immoderate looking successful terror, crying oregon screaming.

One miss shook, holding a fork to her mouth. Another frightened miss covered her ears with her hands. And a lad ran away.

Several radical who viewed the video said online that they were disturbed by what they saw.

“I can’t judge they torture babies this way,’’ wrote 1 idiosyncratic connected Facebook. “This is disgusting.”

Sheriff Kevin Crook of Monroe County said helium was disturbed by the videos.

“As a dada and arsenic idiosyncratic who has large compassion for those who can’t support themselves, I admit it was precise hard to ticker these videos,” he said successful a Facebook station earlier this month, erstwhile his section began an investigation.

“It made maine sick astatine my tummy to deliberation of the panic those kids were enduring,” helium wrote. “It inactive does.”

Sheila Sanders, the proprietor of the time attraction center, could not beryllium reached connected Thursday. She told The Monroe Journal that she was not alert of the videos astatine the clip they were filmed. She said 1 was filmed successful September and different earlier this month.

“No 1 came distant to archer maine it happened successful September,” Ms. Sanders told the paper.

She added that she does not condone the behaviour shown by her erstwhile employees.

“The radical that did those acts are nary longer with us,” she said. “They were fired. I wasn’t present astatine the clip and wasn’t alert they were doing that. I don’t condone that and ne'er have. I conscionable privation to accidental it’s been taken attraction of.”

On Thursday, the 4 employees facing felony charges appeared successful court, Sheriff Crook said. Bonds were acceptable astatine $20,000 for Ms. McCandless and Ms. Kilburn and astatine $15,000 for Ms. Newman and Ms. Mills.