Day care owner gets 6 years for hiding 26 kids in basement
A Colorado day care owner convicted of keeping 26 children hidden in the basement of her business two years ago has been sentenced to six years in prison after parents said some of the children suffered trauma including sleeping problems and anxiety. A judge issued the sentence to Carla Faith on Thursday following her conviction by a jury in August of more than two dozen misdemeanor child abuse charges and other crimes.
Faith was only licensed to care for up to six children at her Colorado Springs private day care and only two of them were allowed to be under the age of 2. But police found 25 children in the basement, including 12 children under age 2, prosecutors said. Many of the children had soiled or wet diapers and were sweaty and thirsty, according to an arrest affidavit.
When police arrived, Faith repeatedly told an officer that no children were there and that the home did not have a basement, but the officer heard children’s music and a child’s cry from the basement, the affidavit said. Another officer discovered a false wall and moved it to reveal the basement staircase, the affidavit said.
Faith's lawyer, Josh Tolini, said she had difficulty saying to “no” to parents who wanted to place their children at her day care. She made some “incredibly poor decisions about how to do this,” Tolini said.
Faith was convicted of 26 counts of misdemeanor child abuse, attempting to influence a public servant and obstructing a peace officer.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/day-care-owner-years-hiding-26-kids-basement-80733288
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