Two South Carolina daycare employees have been arrested after reportedly running a child fight ring at the establishment. Ericka Jones, 27, and Serena Caldwell, 56, of Kids Unlimited of Prosperity turned themselves into authorities at the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office after arrest warrants were issued, Fox News reports.
Ericka Jones and Serena Caldwell face serious charges.
According to authorities, both have been charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful conduct to a child. Caldwell faces 15 charges while Jones faces 14, per a press release on Friday, November 11.
Needless to say, neither woman has a job at the daycare any further. John David Dawkins, who owns Kids Unlimited, told WIIS-TV that the pair were “immediately terminated” after other staff members made him aware of what was happening and he checked out security footage.
The suspects had been encouraging 3- and 4-year-old children to fight each other.
The women told the kids to push, pull, and beat each other. When they showed hesitation, they were instructed to hit the other child again.
After Dawkins watched this in action via security footage, he contacted the South Carolina Department of Social Services and the Newberry County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Lee Foster told WLTX that Dawkins and others at the facility were being extremely cooperative in the investigation.
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Everyone is in shock that something like this could happen.
Foster said that during the investigation, they discovered that the child fight ring “started out with [Caldwell and Jones] saying the teacher had promoted other students or other clients of the daycare, to use violence to try to punish a child or make another child compliant.”
He added: “I have no idea what the two daycare workers were thinking of – that was just abhorrent behavior.”
In total, 14 children were involved. While none of them suffered any serious physical harm, it’s unclear “how much emotional or psychological damage could have been caused by this.”
