Two preschool teachers arrested after parents viewed them allegedly abusing kids on nanny cam
Investigators watching back ‘several weeks’ of footage
Two preschool teachers in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, have been accused of child cruelty after they appeared to abuse two three-year-olds during a live broadcast from their classroom.
Parents of the Parker Chaser Preschool in East Roswell said they rushed to the school on Thursday last week to confront the teachers after witnessing at least one child get mistreated. As WSBT-TV reported on Tuesday, the classroom was fitted with a so-called “nanny cam” broadcasting live to parents.
Brant Duncan and Gloria Barghi said one girl’s hand was stood-on by a teacher and another girl had a knee in the back. All the while the second teacher was seen shouting in the face of one of the children in the now released video. Both members of staff were arrested on Monday.
“I saw it but I was like ‘Oh, I didn’t see that’,” said Ms Barghi, who said she watched the live broadcast because she wanted to check on her son, also aged three. “We saw the second teacher put her hands on the child.”
Roswell police later arrested Zeina Alostwani, 40, and Soriana Briceno, 19, have since been booked into Fulton County Jail on child cruelty charges, according to records seen by The Independent.
Both were denied bail and a judge set Ms Alostwani’s bond at $75,000, while Ms Briceno reportedly had no bond because of her asylum and immigration status. It was not clear if either had a lawyer or had entered a plea.
In a statment, the parent company of the Parker Chase Preschool, Endeavor Schools, said: “We were shocked and disappointed to learn that on Thursday, June 2nd, teachers in the Parker-Chase Pre-Primary B classroom used inappropriate disciplinary actions with children.”
“The teachers in question were immediately removed from the classroom and have been dismissed. We reported this matter to our licensing agency and Children’s Protective Services and are cooperating fully with the authorities, who have informed us that criminal charges are being pursued.”
The statement shared with The Independent continued by saying: “While we are extremely grateful that the children are well, we take this matter seriously, and our investigation is ongoing. We expect our staff to adhere to the highest standards of care, and any failure to do so will not be tolerated.”
A similar message was reportedly shared with parents on Tuesday after the teachers were arrested.
The Roswell Police Department is now reviewing earlier video from the “nanny cam” as a precaution and as part of its investigating into the act of alleged child abuse. That will see investigators watch “several weeks” of footage.
“It doesn’t matter whose child it is,” Mr Duncan added to WSBT-TV. “It’s a child. They’re helpless. They’re defenceless.”
The mother of the child whose back was allegedly kneed by one of the teachers on Monday has remained anonymous but told the local news station: “It was a matter of seconds that we knew that what we had seen was deliberate and and really, my stomach was just in my throat at that point”.