abcNEWS.com, March 24, 2000

Baby Duct-Taped to Wall--Day Care Center Director Admits to Incident

The Associated Press
H U D S O N, Mass., March 24 — The director of a day-care center duct-taped an 8-month-old girl to a wall, thinking the sight of the struggling baby was funny, state officials said in a report.

The director of A Place to Grow in suburban Boston later admitted to the incident, the Office for Child Care Services said in a 12-page report issued this week. The center’s license was suspended last week.

The report also said state investigators found that babies were force-fed and swaddled so tightly that they had red marks. Some infants allegedly got a blast of water in the face if they cried.

“Although the motive for such conduct is not clear at this time,” the state said, “at least one staff member stated that the director and the staff would get ‘a kick out of doing that.’”

The owner of a Hudson day care center is appealing the suspension of the license for the facility.

In a letter to parents, Suzanne Foley says anything below the highest standard of care for children will not be tolerated.

Prosecutors Investigating
The center’s owner, Suzanne Foley, said she has fired the director and two other staffers and is filing an appeal to win back her license.

“I take my responsibility for what happens to the quality of care in our centers very seriously,” Foley wrote Monday in a letter to parents obtained by The MetroWest Daily News. “Anything below the highest standard of care for our children will not be tolerated.”

Police and prosecutors said they were investigating. The state did not identify the director.

According to the report, the director had talked with a parent about how duct tape “works on everything” and wondered if it would make an infant stick to the wall. The next afternoon, a staff member saw the director placing duct tape on the infant’s arms and waist and sticking her to the wall. The infant was taken down after she freed one of her arms. The staff member said the director thought this was “funny,” the report said.

The director later told the infant’s parent, who thought the director was joking.

It was unclear exactly when the incident took place at the center, which cared for 68 children from infants to preschoolers.