HURRICANE W.Va. (WVDN) – Three lawsuits alleging abuse and neglect against children at a Hurricane, West Virginia day care have been filed in the last two weeks, according to filings with the Putnam County Circuit Court.
The lawsuits, which were brought by the parents of three separate children who attended My Family Daycare and Preschool, allege that staff and leadership at the facility neglected their duty to report abuse that was caught on cameras in the day care to the authorities, which is required by West Virginia state law.
The state Department of Human Services did not respond to requests for comment on this story pertaining to whether any official reports have been filed regarding abuse at the day care in the past.
The first lawsuit was filed on Nov. 20 and was brought by Alyshia Henry against the day care; Kelley Matusic, who served as the facility’s director, and Abigail Alford, who was an employee there.
Henry’s 6-year-old child, according to the lawsuit, attended the day care in September, where they were a student in Alford’s classroom.
According to the lawsuit, a video from Sept. 24 — which was shown to the child’s parents and was later posted on Facebook by a friend with Henry’s permission — depicts “a scene of utter chaos.” The classroom was “overcrowded” and being managed by just one employee, Alford.
“This stark imbalance between the number of children and the lone staff member underscores a severe lack of adequate supervision and support, raising concerns about the ability to ensure the safety and proper care of each child in such an understaffed environment,” the lawsuit reads. “The footage highlights the pressing issue of insufficient worker-to-child ratios, which is critical for maintaining order and fostering a safe learning atmosphere.”
In the video, according to the suit, Henry’s child can be seen pushing another child down. That child then goes to tell Alford, who calls out to Henry’s child and tells them to “come here.” When Henry’s child didn’t listen, Alford approached them. Alford then proceeded to “abruptly and aggressively” grab the child under the arms, dragging them across the classroom and dropping them several times, according to the lawsuit.
“The force was so severe that Alford left significant bruising on the minor child, including but not limited to nail marks from her fingers,” the lawsuit reads.
Alford then pulls the child into a corner of the room that is not covered by the cameras. Though not seen, the child can be heard on the video yelling and telling Alford “no” several times, according to the suit.
“It is clear from the video footage that Defendant Alford’s behavior crossed acceptable boundaries, manifesting in ways that caused both immediate and lasting distress to the children under her care and further suggest a deliberate misuse of authority and a betrayal of the trust placed in educators to create a safe and nurturing environment,” according to the lawsuit.
Also according to the suit, the day care as an entity and Matusic — as the director of the day care — acted negligently by not properly vetting Alford before hiring her and not properly training her to work with children. Further, when the incident was brought to Matusic’s attention, she allegedly failed to report it to either local law enforcement or the state Department of Human Services, which is required by state code.
The lawsuit also alleges that Henry’s child was discriminated against by Alford because of their race, which is a violation of the state’s Human Rights Act.
The incident on Sept. 24 was seen by another child at the day care, whose parents Calvary McGuire and Taylor Moore filed a separate lawsuit last week alleging their 9-year-old also suffered from the events.
McGuire and Moore’s child has autism, according to the suit, and is “severely limited in speech development due to her condition.”
In the video from that day, McGuire and Moore’s child is seen sitting in a chair watching television as Alford drags Henry’s child across the room. When they reach the corner out of sight from the cameras — which is right in front of where McGuire and Moore’s child was sitting — McGuire and Moore’s child can be seen jumping out of her chair and becoming “visibly distraught by the abuse she is witnessing,” according to the lawsuit. The child begins waving her arms “in an attempt to get help” for Henry’s child.
The incident caused McGuire and Moore’s child emotional and psychological harm, according to the lawsuit. The second suit alleges the same negligence from Matusic and My Family Daycare that was detailed in the first one brought by Henry.
The third lawsuit — also filed last week — was brought by Samantha Kinnear on behalf of her 3-year-old, who attended My Family Daycare in September of 2023. That suit names Matusic, the day care facility and an unnamed employee.
According to the third suit, Kinnear’s daughter returned home from day care one day with “severe bruising” on her arms. When Kinnear asked her what happened, the child said that her teacher hurt her.
Kinnear immediately took photos of the bruises and reported the abuse to Matusic, who allegedly “tried to brush off the incident,” telling the child when she was confronted with the information, “That didn’t happen, don’t say that,” according to the suit.
The actions of the unnamed day care worker who left the bruises on Kinnear’s toddler caused “immediate and lasting distress” to the child, whose demeanor “completely changed” following the incident, according to the suit.
The allegations against Matusic and the day care in the third suit are largely the same as in the other two suits. As the director, Matusic again failed to report the incident to authorities once it was reported and both she and the day care itself are accused of being negligent in hiring and not training the unnamed worker.
All three families in these suits are being represented by Charleston attorney Michael Cary.
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
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