Houston daycare slammed with $1M lawsuit after 3-year-old allegedly sodomized
HOUSTON - The mother of a toddler who was allegedly sexually abused at a southwest Houston daycare has sued the facility for more than $1 million.
Bivona Law has filed a lawsuit on the mother's behalf against Prince and Princess Daycare, which is located on West Airport.
BACKGROUND: Investigations underway after mother says her 3-year-old was sodomized at SW Houston daycare
The suit, which was filed in March, claims negligence after the 3-year-old boy's mother says he was sodomized with a marker by another classmate while under the care of the daycare.
The victim's mother A'shunte told FOX 26 back in February that she picked up her son from daycare, and he wasn’t the same. She says during bath time at home, she saw green scribblings on his bottom that continued deep inside him.
"I started crying, and I asked him ‘Baby, who did this to you?’ He said, ‘One of the little kids in the daycare with him.’ He named her. He said the little girl’s name," A'shunte said in February.
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The victim was rushed to the ER at Texas Children's Hospital, where doctors found marks down his backside. After further examination, doctors confirmed the child was sodomized with the open end of a marker, the lawsuit says.
"Incidents like the one alleged should not happen to any child anywhere," said Drew Bivona of Bivona Law. "When a parent drops their child off at daycare, they place their trust in that daycare. Here that trust was shattered."
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the Prince and Princess Daycare has been cited 48 times in the last five years.
The lawsuit goes into further detail about these citations, which include instances of caregivers falling asleep while caring for 18 children, caregivers not knowing how many children were on the daycare's premises, a child being left without supervision on the premises, caregivers yelling at children, and caregivers physically disciplining children.
MORE: Spring daycare 'fully exonerated' on claims of child abuse
The lawsuit seeks damages for more than $1 million, citing medical expenses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disability and impairment, lost earnings, out-of-pocket expenses related to the incident, and childcare costs.
"They stole his innocence and took away his confidence," A'shunte said. "Why is business still going on like someone’s 3 and 4-year-olds didn’t sexually abuse my child?"