Daycare workers arrested for terrorizing children with scary mask, 4 of 5 face felony child abuse charges

Five Mississippi daycare workers have been arrested in an incident involving children being frightened beyond any conscionable understanding by one of the employees wearing a scary Halloween mask.

On at least two occasions, one occurring in September and one on October 4, a masked employee is seen on video making her way into various rooms scaring the living daylights out of the children who scream and cry out in sheer terror.

Not only did those involved record the atrocity, but employees could also be seen laughing as this took place.

Some of the footage that went viral can be seen here:

Four women have been charged with felony child abuse, according to WTVA, which identified the workers as Sierra McCandless, Oci-Anna Kilburn, Jennifer Newman, and Shyenne Shelton.

A fifth woman, Traci Hutson, was charged with two misdemeanor charges, failure to report abuse, and simple assault against a minor.

The mugshots from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office can be seen below:

Top Row, L-R: Traci Diane Hutson, Misty Sheyenne Mills, Sierra McCandless Bottom Row, L-R: Oci-Anna Elise Kilburn, Jennifer Newman.

The owner of the Lil’ Blessings Daycare, located in Hamilton, Miss., was not charged in the case, the NBC affiliate reported.

The story went viral when it broke earlier this month, with one mother appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to say her 2-year-old son was showing signs of trauma and has difficulty sleeping through the night.

“I was in complete shock of what I witnessed,” parent Katelyn Johnson said. “Whether they had a mask on or a mask off, their behavior was unacceptable. My blood pressure was raised. It broke my heart for my child. I was angry.”

“I hope you’re enjoying jail,” she said of the suspects. “And I hope you realize what you’ve done is serious. And it’s not a joke. And it’s nothing to laugh at.”

McCandless and Kilburn were released on $20,000 bonds, and Newman and Shelton received $15,000 bonds. A WTVA reporter was on hand when three of the women were released:

Tom Tillison

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles