BELLEVUE, Ohio — A Sandusky County daycare is under police investigation after parents and former employees raised serious concerns.
Kaylee Wade's son attended Saint Paul Christian Daycare in Bellevue since he was an infant; she says she was concerned when her son started coming home with bumps and bruises.
Wade says that sometimes she was told another child bit her son, and other times there wasn't an explanation at all.
"Were you not paying attention? Were you not in the room? What was happening that you don't see?" said Wade.
Wade says the final straw was when a teacher contacted her, informing her about an incident involving her son.
"I had received a message from one of the daycare teachers, and she said I don't know what to do. I just want to let you know they just threw a hard ball at your son, hard enough to the point where his face planted forward," said Wade.
That's when Wade decided to contact Child Protective Services, the Ohio Attorney General and law enforcement. In her report, she alleges her child has marks on his face from having a ball thrown at him, allegedly for biting, a rash from being in a soiled diaper that had not been changed, and a daycare worker forcefully pulling the child and holding the child on the ground.
However, when she was not getting the answers she needed, she decided to take her concerns to Facebook.
"I have had probably close to 80 people who have shared experiences, things that have happened going back as far as five years, and it makes my stomach turn," said Wade.
Wade's post attracted many parents who started sharing similar stories of their children coming home with marks and bruises and soiled diapers that have led to rashes.
Wade wasn't the only one raising concerns; another parent, who also worked at the daycare, filed a report with the Bellevue police department. It claims an employee "physically abuses" and "withholds food" from children. The report says, "When a child would bite," the worker would take the tips of her fingers and push the child down by the forehead, which would cause their heads to bounce off the floor.
Jaelie Humberger worked at the daycare from 2022 until June of this year and says she's witnessed employees being rough with kids, and parents are not told the full story.
"If you look closely, that's not a bite. I mean, I received a picture from a kid that had a mark under their eye, and I said I was in the room when that happened. That's not a bite; that child was pushed into a heater," said Humberger.
The Bellevue police department is investigating and asking parents or anyone else with information to contact them.
We reached out to Saint Paul's Christian daycare, who said they won't comment until after the investigation is complete.
