Prospect Lefferts Gardens day care shut amid 'horrific' child abuse allegations

A Brooklyn day care center closed in January after the city began investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect, Gothamist has learned.

The closure of the Eva Crèche Day Care center in Prospect Lefferts Gardens came after parents saw videos they say show their children being physically mistreated, and inside a private home without the parents' permission. The videos were taken by an employee who reported the incidents to the city and was later suspended by the day care.

The city’s Department of Health and the Administration for Children’s Services, which investigates cases of child abuse, confirmed it is investigating but didn’t disclose additional details.

The employee texted some parents videos of their children during the holiday break on Dec. 31. The videos taken by a center employee then began circulating among parents whose children attended Eva Crèche. The parents, who asked Gothamist not to name them to protect their children's privacy, showed Gothamist those videos, which were taken between September and October of last year.

The videos show an employee grabbing and tossing a child, and other children eating in a private home that parents say wasn’t approved. At least eight parents validated the videos’ authenticity, and said they recognized their children and the day care center, as well as the workers. Two of the videos are what appear to be cell phone footage of internal security cameras. City officials said they, too, are aware of the videos.

George M. Gilmer, who represents the owner of the center, Shareese Dukes, said his client was cooperating with the ongoing investigation, adding that she fired the “alleged perpetrator of the neglect immediately.” He did not say who the alleged perpetrator was. Calls to Dukes went unanswered.

“It’s a very difficult situation, we understand, but my client took all necessary measures after she learned about the incident,” Gilmer said, declining further comment.

The center’s executive director, Gigi Freeman, also referred comment to Gilmer.

City officials said the Eva Crèche Day Care gave up its license after voluntarily closing when several parents pulled their children from the center. Officials said they are exploring whether they could issue summons and fines even though the center is closed.

“What these parents describe is horrific and unacceptable,” health department spokesperson William Fowler said. “The allegations remain under investigation, and we continue to support the ongoing investigation and monitor that the program remains closed with no children on site. We are also monitoring that the provider and staff do not attempt to open a new child care program.”

The employee who parents identified as the whistleblower could not be reached for comment through her attorney. Gothamist is not naming her because neither she nor her attorney has confirmed her identity or her role in the investigation.

The six videos reviewed by Gothamist show at least two children being physically mistreated where one was grabbed by the clothing and tossed and another was grabbed forcefully upside down. Other videos show a worker pointing a broom at a child in a high chair, two toddlers left inside their portable cribs alone in a bathroom, and children eating lunch on the floor of another location that was not the approved day care facility, according to parents.

One video taken Sept. 4 shows at least six children trying to nap on three mattresses in a room that parents say was not in the day care. A photo provided to Gothamist also showed the children sitting on the floor of what looks like an apartment kitchen eating their snacks. Two parents whose children were in the video and photo said the day care documented their children as taking a “neighborhood walk” that day on the app the day care uses to track each child’s daily nap and eating schedules.

Parents also allege the day care enrolled more than the 10 children it was licensed for. A video viewed by Gothamist around the same time showed at least 14 children at the center.

‘‘Completely unacceptable"

Emails sent by the day care’s owner and executive director to parents, and shared by those parents with Gothamist, indicate that the Administration for Children's Services was investigating the center starting in November. The administration would not confirm that timeline.

On Nov. 7, the day care’s executive director and owner told parents about the initial investigation by child welfare workers, acknowledging there were allegations made by an employee against another longtime worker at the center, a copy of the email provided to Gothamist shows.

The email said both the accuser and the longtime employee were immediately suspended out of an abundance of caution, though they believed the allegations to be unfounded, they wrote in the email. The attorney for the day care told Gothamist an employee accused of the abuse was immediately terminated.

On Dec. 4, the day care sent parents another email saying “the investigation is progressing in our favor, as expected,” a copy of the email reviewed by Gothamist shows.

Parents said it wasn’t until Dec. 31 when some of them received text messages from the whistleblower showing videos of the alleged abuse. The day care closed Jan. 2.

The same day parents saw the videos, Eva Crèche’s owner and executive director emailed parents to say they were aware videos “have surfaced involving physical misconduct by one of our former employees.” They went on to say they “personally did not witness inappropriate behavior” and had not been previously aware of the videos. They called the behavior shown in the videos “completely unacceptable.”

A copy of the email was shared with Gothamist.

ACS spokesperson Marisa Kaufman said the agency began investigating as soon as it was made aware of the allegations, but declined to comment on specific allegations citing privacy laws.

Health officials said they had not received complaints of the center operating over capacity and counted the allowable number of children during inspections.

The Eva Crèche Center on Lefferts Avenue was licensed for 10 children in 2021, city records show. The center charged $570 a week for eight hours a day of care and $595 for 10 hours of care, about $2,280 to $2,380 a month, based on screenshots of the now-defunct website provided to Gothamist by parents.

Last month, a Gothamist reporter visited the Eva Crèche Center and saw large black trash bags stuffed in an outdoor bin containing the remaining belongings of the children.

Prior city inspections and violations gave no clue that there were prior problems inside Eva Crèche. While the center had some violations, which is common among providers, most were for paperwork issues and none recorded over enrollment, city records show.

Councilmember Crystal Hudson, who represents neighboring Crown Heights, said some of her constituents sent their children to Eva Crèche.

“It’s heartbreaking. I’m a parent of a young child myself, certainly when we send our kids to day care, we don't expect these things to happen, it’s heartbreaking from the kids and parents to experience this,” Hudson said.