‘Horrible’: Spartanburg Police Department investigating alleged daycare abuse

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A mother is speaking out after she claims daycare workers abused her child.

This is a story FOX Carolina News first brought you last week when now ex-employees said they caught an incident on camera.

On Wednesday FOX Carolina confirmed the Spartanburg Police Department alongside the Department of Social Services (DSS) are investigating Maranatha Childcare.

A mother said she is upset but relieved authorities are now involved.

“Horrible, horrible, horrible. Shame on her,” Latasha Gentry said as she watched a video back that appears to show a Maranatha Childcare employee pinching kids.

In the video captured undercover by now ex-employees it shows a child crying after allegedly being pinched.

In another video the employee appears to then hit kids with a ruler who are resting.

“A video will never lie. A video will NEVER lie,” Gentry said.

Gentry said she had found concerning marks on her son. She said when she brought the issue up to Maranatha’s director, it was swept under the rug. However, Gentry said her son told her what happened the best he could. It’s a truth Gentry claims was reveled in the videos.

“He simply said, ‘That thing pinched me!’ So when I saw that video surface, it was an eye opener for me because that explained where those marks came from,” Gentry said.

Parents like Gentry now have a clear message for the church-run daycare as they said justice needs to be served.

“It’s a shame that you have church people, supposed to be godly people that are treating these babies the way they have been treated, as well as my son. It’s sickening,” Gentry said.

Gentry has moved her son to a new school, where she said he’s blooming.

The Spartanburg Police Department said no charges have been filed yet.

Maranatha Childcare said they don’t want to make a statement until their investigation is over.

Stay with FOX Carolina News for updates.