HAMILTON, MISSISSIPPI (AP) – Four people linked to viral video footage of Mississippi day care employees using a scary mask to frighten young children are facing charges of felony child abuse, and a fifth person faces two misdemeanour counts, authorities said.
The daycare’s owner, Sheila Sanders, is not facing charges. She has said that at least four of the employees were fired after the video came to light.
The videos were posted on social media. They show a day care worker at Lil’ Blessings Child Care and Learning Center in Hamilton, an unincorporated community in northeast Mississippi, wearing a Halloween mask similar to the one in the Scream movies and yelling at children who didn’t “clean up” or “act good”.
Children can be seen bawling, cowering in fear and at times running from the masked employee.
Another employee gives directions, singling out which children have acted good or bad. The employee in the mask is shown screaming inches away from children’s faces, the video showed.
