Florida daycare faces lawsuit after employee allegedly 'pinned' boy against table, 'snatched' him up by arm
LAKE MARY, Fla. - A Seminole County mom has filed a lawsuit against a daycare in Lake Mary claiming that her son was assaulted by a teacher's assistant who allegedly held him against a table and shoved him to make sure he stayed there, according to court records.
The lawsuit, filed by Imani Prioleau-Smith in Seminole County on Jan. 4, alleges that Starchild Academy, a daycare center in Lake Mary, was negligent, which resulted in two alleged assaults of her son. Prioleau-Smith is seeking over $50,000 in damages from the daycare, which she is accusing of negligence, negligent and inadequate supervision, civil battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium, according to the lawsuit.
It remains unclear how old Prioleau-Smith's son is, but Starchild Academy's website advertises daycare services for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school students.
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The first assault allegedly occurred on Jan. 10, 2022. The boy was playing in the playground and wanted to get on the monkey bars, according to the lawsuit. He guided another child away from the monkey bars, and that's when a staff member allegedly grabbed him and "snatched him up" by the arm, causing him to be suspended in the air as he was moved to the time-out area.
The second assault happened on Sept. 21 later that year, the lawsuit said. Helper and teacher's assistant Betsy Rodriguez Reyes allegedly "pinned him with her leg against the table and aggressively pulling him by his arm and forcibly slamming him into his seat and shoved him into the table against his sternum."
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In the aftermath of these incidents, the boy's parents made the school aware of what happened and spoke to the teacher and director. The boy was then pulled out of the class and was given a new teacher.
The boy has suffered mental and emotional trauma and is now "afraid of going to school," the lawsuit states. Prioleau-Smith said her son has become "extremely anxious" when it's time to be dropped off at school and has sustained "significant psychological scarring."
"He has suffered in the past and will continue to suffer in the future, severe mental, emotional, and psychological pain from the assaults he had to go through," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit states that Starchild Academy was responsible for the safety of those in their care, and knew or should have known that an incident or accident was possible. Additionally, the mom said the daycare center's assault and battery on the child was "intentional and reckless" and they should have known the "emotional distress" that would transpire.
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"The conduct … is outrageous and it goes beyond all bounds of decency and is utterly intolerable and unacceptable in a civilized community, much less at a school and daycare facility for young children," the lawsuit said.
Starchild Academy did not reply to FOX 35's request for comment at the time of publication.
Back in 2009, another Starchild location in Orlando was sued by parents of a 4-year-old child for $5 million. They said their child was "molested and otherwise touched in a sexually inappropriate manner by another student." The daycare center's owner denied the allegations and the Department of Children and Families, who investigated the complaint, said they didn't consider a child that young to be a perpetrator. This lawsuit also alleged supervision issues at the daycare, but no formal action was taken against Starchild Academy at the time.