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'Our children got hurt': Former Sweet Angels daycare worker appears in court on charges of child endangerment

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NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A judge has ruled that the case against a former Sweet Angels Daycare and Preschool employee will move forward following a court hearing on Wednesday.

NORTH TONAWANDA CITY COURT

Savanna Huntington, a former worker at the now-closed daycare, faces three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from a criminal investigation into the daycare's location on Erie Avenue.

Jasmine Atlikhani and Kathy Stefanko, both mothers whose children attended different Sweet Angels locations — one in North Tonawanda and another in Newfane — expressed relief that the case is progressing.

PARENTS SWEET ANGELS

"Our children got hurt, physically, emotionally, everything," Atlikhani said. "I’m ecstatic because we waited months just to hear this. With the lawyer trying to drop everything, we were kind of worried about that for a little bit. But we're happy it's going in the right direction, and our kids should be getting justice."

Atlikhani said her son had direct interactions with Huntington and that Child Protective Services (CPS) sent her a letter last year warning that her child could be a victim of abuse.

"Found out some things happened, and he's still having some issues, but we're working through it, and we're trying our best at this point," she said.

LOTEMPIO

In court, the judge ruled that the charges against Huntington were sufficient to move forward.

Frank LoTempio III is representing Huntington.

"I think that this has been completely blown out of proportion," he said. "We made a motion to dismiss in the interest of justice, also just because, look, this is a case where the person with no criminal history. You know, as I said in my statement to the court, you know, even if these allegations are true, then probably likely every parent in the United States of America would be guilty of the danger in the welfare of a child, right?"

The judge denied the motion, saying the case needs to go to trial.

"It's an emotional case, right? So picking a jury in a case like this, when a judge, when we are actually making a very legal argument, sometimes it's better to go in front of a just a judge on in that case," LoTempio said.

The case returns to court on March 26 to discuss any possible motions from LoTempio and the next steps.

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