A group of parents from Colorado are feeling completely betrayed after finding out the horrifying conditions their children were kept in at their daycare.
Carla Faith, the former daycare owner, reportedly had a license that allowed her to keep not more than six children in her care at the daycare facility. However, police officers found that she was taking in more than two dozen children and keeping them hidden inside a basement, according to Insider.
When the police arrived for a welfare check, they found Carla being uncooperative whilst claiming she had no children inside the daycare facility. However, one officer heard the cries of a child and noticed a stack of backpacks.
The responding officers then found 26 children, all below the age of 3, being kept behind a false wall in miserable conditions. “Many of the children had soiled or wet diapers, were sweating, and were very thirsty upon contact,” said the police affidavit.
Soon after the discovery, Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Lt. James Sokolik spoke about the incident and said, as quoted by KKTV, “The owner, identified as 58-year-old Carla Faith, refused to cooperate with officers; however, officers could hear the noises of children coming from her home. During their investigation, officers found a false wall that led to the home’s basement. When officers walked down the stairs, they located two adults and [25] kids inside a finished basement, all of who were under the age of 3 years old. Officers immediately began working with [The Colorado Department of Human Services] to release the children back to their parents.”
Along with Carla, three other employees were also arrested after the children were found behind the false wall in 2019.
Nearly two years later, Carla received her sentence in October, 2021. She was given a six-year sentence for attempting to influence a public servant and is also facing 10 months for each of the 26 counts of child abuse. It was also noted that the sentences will be carried out concurrently.
While Carla spends time behind bars, the children she neglected will have to continue trying to recover from the incident. Many of them are still experiencing sleep and anxiety issues after being kept in Carla’s daycare facility, according to their parents.
“We sleep with the lights on in our house,” said one parent, Kim Marshall, who said both her kids are still in counseling because of Carla’s actions, as reported by KOAA 5.
On the day Carla’s verdict came out, District Attorney Michael Allen said they were able to achieve justice, especially for the parents that felt their trust was broken by the former daycare worker.
“We were able to achieve justice. And justice on behalf of every single one of these parents that we have behind me today,” Allen said, as quoted by KKTV, “parents that had to live through something that they never would’ve imagined. Having the kids locked in the basement at a place that they were taking their kids to for care. Some place they trusted and felt like they were getting the care that they were expecting to achieve… These kids were put into danger and every single one of these families has been impacted greatly by what happened in this case, and I think it’s just something that we should be thankful for, that this jury felt strongly enough about the evidence and came back with a pretty fast verdict and found both defendants guilty of all charges.”