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A group of four employees who were fired from a Mississippi daycare are now facing child abuse charges after a viral video showed one employee wearing a Scream-inspired Halloween mask and terrifying the children in their care.
In the troubling video, the children can be seen screaming and being brought to tears as the adult continues to frighten them.
Sierra McCandless, 21, Oci-Anna Kilburn, 28, Jennifer Newman, 25, and Misty Shyenne Mills, 28, are each facing three counts of felony child abuse. Another woman, Traci Hutson, is facing charges of failure to report abuse by a mandatory reporter and simple assault against a minor.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and attorneys said they “met with the parents of the children involved in the incident at Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center and informed them of the possible criminal charges the law would allow them to pursue,” according to CNN.
“I admit it was very hard to watch these videos,” Sheriff Kevin Crook wrote in a statement on social media. “It made me sick to my stomach to think of the terror those kids were enduring.”
Sheila Sanders, who has owned the daycare for the past two decades, commented on the incident and explained that the woman are no longer employed.
“I contacted my licensure, and she has gotten involved,” Sanders told the Monroe Journal. “The people that did those acts are no longer with us. They were fired. I wasn’t here at the time and wasn’t aware they were doing that. I don’t condone that and never have. I just want to say it’s been taken care of.”
The daycare facility has still not reopened since the incident.
