Barrie daycare reviewing allegations educator assaulted children

A Barrie childcare centre has confirmed it is reviewing allegations of inappropriate conduct by an educator following complaints from parents who reported their children were assaulted in July and August.

BrightPath Early Learning and Child Care said an internal review is underway after it received a complaint on Aug. 7 that a four-year-old girl was flicked in the nose and mouth by her educator and sprayed with a bottle containing cleaning products.

“I think that was the part that really got to me, was that someone was there and saw this happen and didn’t say anything,” said the little girl’s mother, Cristina Pedano.

It was back in August when Cristina and her husband, Jeff Pedano, said their four-year-old daughter told them an unusual story about what happened to her at daycare.

“She approached me and said, ‘You know, he sprayed me in the face with a water bottle,’” said Jeff Pedano. “So, I said, ‘Well, why did he spray you in the face? Was in an accident? Was he cleaning something?’ She said, ‘No, he sprayed me because I was misbehaving during nap time, and he also flicked me in the face.’”

After their child demonstrated how she had been flicked in the face, the Pedanos reported the incident to BrightPath and the authorities, prompting an investigation by Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions, whom the Pedanos said found the spray bottle used on their daughter contained either soap and water or water and bleach.

Barrie Police also were called to investigate but declined to answer questions about the investigation.

“When we got the call from CAS, to be quite honest, I was shocked, I was angry, I was upset,” said the child’s mother.

The Pedanos told CTV News the case worker confirmed their four-year-old daughter was assaulted by her educator. The Pedanos said the director at BrightPath Barrie told them the employee was sent home and suspended with pay.

They learned the educator returned to work at the childcare centre weeks later.

“The response back was like, ‘He is a tenured employee. We did training, and we think that that’s enough,’ and we said, ‘No, that’s not enough. We want you to acknowledge what you did, we want you to take accountability, and we don’t understand. Like, why are you continuing to employ this employee? You know that he’s done things in the past.’”

It turns out, this was not the first time a child had been flicked in the face by the longtime educator.

“There was this educator who flicked him on the nose and on his mouth, and then he said that it was because he was not sleepy, and he didn’t want to take a nap,” said Amanda Filippini.

Filippini and her husband, Guilherme, said their four-year-old son was left traumatized following a similar flicking incident in July.

“He was completely desperate and crying and clinging to me and jumping and saying, ‘Thank you, thank you for picking me up. Take me home. I don’t want to be here anymore,” said Filippini of her son’s reaction the day it happened.

“When I saw him crying, shivering, for me it was something that was beyond the physical thing,” said the boy’s father.

Following a complaint to the Ministry of Education, the Filippinis said investigators mistakenly interviewed BrightPath staff members who were not working the day of the alleged assault.

“They interviewed the educators that were supposed to be at the classroom but were on vacation,” said Amanda Filippini, who revealed the ministry declined to reopen the investigation into the assault of their son, who, for the final month of his time at BrightPath, was separated from his friends and moved to a different classroom.

The couple said BrightPath has not reached out to follow up since their son left the daycare when he started school in September, and the Pedanos came forward with their complaint a month later.

“This employee was under another investigation already that he was supposed to be on a safe work plan where he wasn’t supposed to be alone with other children and is supposed to have another educator with him at all times,” said Jeff Pedano.

In a statement to CTV News, BrightPath said its leadership is “committed to maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for our children, families, and staff members,” adding, “We continue to strengthen our professional development practices and reaffirm our strict safeguarding measures and policies to ensure the utmost safety of our children.”

This response is not enough for the Pedanos.

“I want them to let him go. Like, I don’t understand how you could have this individual represent your brand, your organization, who’s done this to children. Your job is to take care of children; that is your job.”

The Ministry of Education confirmed it is reviewing the allegations.

“Any matter involving the safety and well-being of children is taken very seriously,” said Emma Testani, press secretary with the Ministry of Education. “The inspector assigned to the file has referred the matter to the Ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement Unit, and the investigation is ongoing.”

The Florida-based company’s CEO spent Friday afternoon in Barrie speaking one-on-one with staff and parents but was not made available for comment to CTV News.