Feb 25, 2008 11:01 pm US/Central
More Accusations Of Abuse At Casino Child Care
(WCCO)
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Tribal police were called and took pictures of this 2-year-old boy after his parents say he was attacked at Kids Quest. The boy's parents wrote a letter to Kids Quest demanding changes to prevent similar assaults.
CBS
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The 3-year-old's mother said the boy received cuts and bruises during the attack at Kids Quest.
CBS
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The child was apparently in a play area when workers found him.
CBS
The accusation that one child had been raped at a casino child care center was tough enough. Now, more parents are coming forward with violent stories from Kids Quest at Grand Casino Mille Lacs.
These parents say Kids Quest didn't keep a close eye on the children in their care, but some surveillance cameras did.
On a video tape allegedly taken at Grand Casino Mille Lacs in June 2004, attorney Rich Ruohnen said there is no question violent behavior took place. The video shows two children in a fight, with no employee visible. A few minutes later, it shows two children teaming up on one child.
About 10 minutes after the video was taken, Ruohnen said staff members found his client's 2-year-old son with injuries.
"He had scratches all over his face. He'd been clearly punched and beaten," said Ruohnen.
Tribal police were called and took pictures, and the boy's parents wrote a letter to Kids Quest demanding changes to prevent similar assaults.
"They thought what they did was enough. They thought changes had been and made so this would never happen again," said Ruohnen.
In March 2007, another parent said a boy sexually molested her 7-year-old daughter in one of the play tubes.
"This was just horrifying for me to hear this from my daughter and not a staff member," said the child's mother, who declined to be identified to protect her daughter's identity. "It was heart wrenching because just to know they're letting this go ... on why should be more aware of what's going on in their facility."
"You cannot see what is going on inside the (play) tubes," said a former Quest employee.
In a written statement, Kids Quest said it's reviewing modifications to play equipment to further enhance the surveillance of children, including installation of microphones, additional cameras and removal of certain confined areas of tubing. Those are improvements concerned parents say should have happened long ago.
"You pay a high price for your children to be there you expect them to be safe," said the 7-year-old's mother.
Since last month's reported rape of a 3-year-old boy, the tribe that runs Grand Casino shut down the day care. Indian leaders pulled Kids Quest's license to do business there for one year, but the day care is fighting that.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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