Photo prompts probe into daycare
Center says worker fired after allegedly posting nude photo on Snapchat
Investigations are underway by both the state’s Department of Social Services and the Special Victims Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department into allegations that a Santa Clarita Valley daycare teacher photographed a napping naked girl, then posted the photo on social media.
The incident happened on Aug. 31 at the Sunshine Child Care & Learning Centers on Wiley Canyon Road. The daycare worker has since been fired from her job.
Program analysts with the Department of Social Services evaluated the complaint after being notified by a daycare staffer. They visited the daycare unannounced Sept. 18 and found the facility failed to follow procedure in reporting the incident.
Specifically, according to an evaluation report written by the two officials: “The facility failed to report an incident that took place on Aug. 31, 2018, when a teacher took a picture of a child’s bare buttocks while napping and posted it on Snapchat.
“Although the teacher has been terminated, the director was informed that the incident is an unusual incident that should have been reported to Community Care Licensing by telephone within 24 hours, and in writing within seven days.”
The daycare’s director was told by state officials to submit an unusual incident report to the CCL by Sept. 19.
When contacted Friday about the incident, Sunshine Director Sean Adachi said: “The investigation was closed.
“They (evaluators) were happy with all we were doing,” he said. “We already let the person go. They (evaluators) closed it that day.”
While state officials review the case, law enforcement is pressing ahead with its own investigation.
“We have an investigation regarding this incident,” Sgt. Brian Hudson of the LASD Special Victims Bureau said Friday. “We are still investigating and have not made any arrests at this point.”
With regards to how the incident was handled by Sunshine administrators, state officials concluded Sunshine did not comply with state regulations
Social services spokesman Michael Weston said: “When an unusual incident occurs, a facility is required to contact the (Social Services) Department with 24 hours and submit an unusual incident report within 10 days.”
In the end, Sunshine was cited by state officials for a “Type B deficiency.”
The state defines Type B deficiencies as: “Violations of the regulations and/or the Health and Safety Code, that, without correction, could become a risk to the health, safety or personal rights of clients, a recordkeeping violation that would impact the care of clients and/or protection of their resources, or a violation that would impact those services required to meet the clients’ needs.”
According to the complainant who notified state officials on Sept. 12, the daycare teacher took photographs and video images of the napping girl using her cell phone.
The complaint investigation report compiled by the two evaluators reads: “Based on the interviews conducted, it has been determined that the facility was in violation of personal rights when a teacher took a picture of a child’s bare buttocks while the child was napping and posting it on Snapchat.
“Therefore, the complaint investigation is substantiated.”
The girl’s family, according to the whistleblower, plans to sue the daycare.