State investigates allegations of child abuse at DeSoto daycare
DESOTO- The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is investigating a DeSoto daycare facility after allegations of abuse of a four-year-old boy.
The teacher involved in the incident at Cambridge Academy DeSoto is not facing criminal charges.
Alexus Morris, the child's mother, said the alleged incident highlights the need for systemic change in the way these cases get handled.
Morris and her husband moved to DeSoto about two months ago and immediately started looking for a daycare for their four-year-old son, Jace.
"When I found Cambridge, they said we can absolutely take him in," Morris said.
Not long after he started in December, the staff at Cambridge Academy DeSoto told her Jace was having behavioral issues. Morris acknowledges Jace does have ADHD and sometimes has trouble listening.
The wife and mother got a call last Wednesday to come pick him up. She said the daycare told her that he was hitting and kicking a teacher.
"I took my son, and we got into the car," she said. "From there, that's when he told me a teacher hit me."
So Morris returned to the daycare and asked to see security footage from the day. She FaceTimed her husband so he could watch, too, and then she started recording what they saw.
"I'm like, why is she picking up my child by one arm?" she said. "Why is she snatching him around? Me and my husband were just watching this, and we were like, that's unacceptable the way that she's handling him. How could you treat a child like this?"
The video Morris recorded on her phone doesn't have audio nor show what led to the encounter, but you can see a teacher grab Jace and carry him out of the room.
She then takes him into the front office. The teacher appears to be holding the boy down, at one point putting his arm behind his back and later pulling him by the wrist, while Jace struggles to get his blanket.
When she takes it from Jace, he reaches forward as if to hit her and gets knocked down.
"All of it was hard to watch," Morris said.
Though some details in the video may be hard to make out, Morris was clear on the next step.
"We needed to get the police involved very, very quickly because to me, that was abuse," she said.
However, that's not what the DeSoto Police Department found.
An officer came to the daycare that day, and a juvenile crimes detective was later assigned to the case. They reviewed the video and determined no criminal offense occurred.
DeSoto police said they "could not file a county-level injury to a child or assault case because there was no proof that the child sustained an injury."
"It's clear he was handled very inappropriately, very, very forcefully, and because he doesn't have a broken arm or black eye, we can't do anything about it," said Morris. "So that was very disappointing."
Cambridge Academy said it immediately terminated the teacher involved and voluntarily reported the incident to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
The academy referred the case to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which said, "The investigation is ongoing."
Morris is frustrated by what she feels is a need for action by authorities.
"Who do parents turn to at this point?" Morris said. "Do we wait till a child has a broken elbow? At what point is enough--enough?"
Cambridge Academy management called it an "isolated occurrence" in a statement. It said, "We are taking a proactive approach by incorporating additional measures to enhance our core values and policies and the standard of care we provide to children. These steps will help ensure that what allegedly occurred on January 10, 2024, will not happen in the future."
Jace won't be going back to the daycare.
"Everyone just sat there and watched, so that's very hard," Morris said. "Just knowing your child was not protected by anyone."
Now, Morris wants to help other parents avoid a similar situation.
"We also want to encourage parents to listen to their children," she said. "If their children says someone hit me, it's best to follow up on that now."
Whether or not the state determines this was abuse, Morris says she's glad she knows what really happened to her son that day.
You can read the full statement from Cambridge Academy DeSoto below:
The purpose of this statement is to address an alleged incident that occurred at Cambridge Academy DeSoto on January 10, 2024 which caused a parent to allege abuse against a Cambridge Academy DeSoto teacher.
Upon learning of the alleged incident, Cambridge Academy DeSoto administration took immediate action by reporting the alleged incident to the necessary, proper authorities. Texas Child Protective Services has conducted an initial review and has made a preliminary determination that no abuse occurred. We will continue to cooperate with the authorities and provide additional information, as they commence with their investigations. The teacher involved in the alleged incident has been terminated.
We want to assure our parents and the community that this is an isolated occurrence and there is no indication whatsoever that any previous incident like this occurred prior to the January 10, 2024 allegation.
It is Cambridge Academy DeSoto's top priority to provide a safe, high-quality learning experience to the children in our care. We continue to follow all Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Licensing Regulations as required by law. We are taking a pro-active approach by incorporating additional measures to enhance our core values and policies and the standard of care we provide to children. These steps will help ensure that what allegedly occurred on January 10, 2024 will not happen in the future.
As the investigations move forward, we will continue to cooperate with the authorities. We respectfully ask that the community allow the time and space the authorities need to conduct their investigations and that judgments be withheld until this matter reaches final adjudication.
Thank you,
Cambridge Academy Management