BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dante Jones and Rayan Neil love their little boy Rayden.
"Rayden’s a playful kid. He loves to smile. He loves to play with his brothers and sisters. He likes outside," Neil said.
Now that Rayden is 2 years old, Jones and Neil decided to send Rayden to Mary's Little Lambs Preschool & Childcare Center on Kensington Avenue in Buffalo. But about two weeks ago they heard him say something that alarmed them.
"He came home one day, and he just told me, 'Teacher hit me,' And I was trying to understand because he's only two," Neil said.
Jones said she went to the daycare's director on Tuesday to figure out what was happening.
"It escalated rather quickly. She called the cops on me. She was telling me I was trespassing and to get off her property. She also was the like shushing her teachers away so they wouldn't come forward which they were trying to come forward and that's when the accusation happened with the 17-year-old teacher," Jones said.
That's when Buffalo Police arrived at the daycare and arrested the daycare's director 52-year-old Mary Goodwill. Investigators say she got into an argument with a 17-year-old and pushed her out a door — all while a classroom of children looked on.
Police said more parents arrived at the daycare throughout the day due to a social media post alleging harm to the children.
Erie County Child Protective Services (CPS) and the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) responded to investigate the claims made by parents. Police said the daycare voluntarily shut down for the week while the investigation continues. Buffalo Police Special Victims Unit is also investigating.
On the OCFS website, it states that since 2022 the daycare has been cited for violations that include corporal punishment and failure to report any maltreatment of a child. The agency also investigated eight complaints, three of which were substantiated.
OCFS sent the following statement to 7 News:
“The safety and well-being of all children in OCFS-licensed day care programs is our top priority. OCFS is actively investigating complaints registered with the agency.”
"We're just trying to glue our pieces back together. It's our first time putting our baby in daycare, so it was like really hard for us," Jones said.
"He's a good kid. He just likes to have fun. I just wish, you know, this stuff never happened. You know, if he couldn't speak I would have never knew what was going on at the daycare," Neil said.
Jones and Neil said they're readjusting and trying to find another daycare to put their trust in all while fighting for their little boy.
"We just hope that we get justice for our baby and all those little babies who don't have voice and who weren't even able to tell their parents what's going on you know just a safe environment for those kids all around in our neighborhood," Jones said.
