Police in Colorado Springs say 26 children under the age of three were found hidden behind a false wall in the basement of a daycare, and the owner and three employees have since been arrested.
According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, officers went to the Play Mountain Place daycare on Nov. 13 after complaints that it was caring for more children than its license allowed. Court TV reports the facility was licensed for six children. Officers heard noise coming from downstairs, found a false wall and located two adults and the children behind it.
Court TV also reports that the owner, Carla, 58, told a human services worker earlier that day that no children were at the facility, and later told officers there was no basement and that the children were at a park. Police said some of the toddlers had wet or soiled diapers, and People Magazine reported that police reports allege many of the children were sweating and visibly dehydrated.
“Officers immediately began working with DHS to release the children back to their parents,” police said in a press release.
After a six week investigation by the department’s Crimes Against Children Unit, Carla was arrested on two counts of reckless child abuse without injury and one count of attempting to influence a public servant. Three employees were also arrested: Katelynne, 31, Christina, 35, and Valerie, 24. Their charges range from child abuse without injury to possession of a controlled substance, according to Court TV. All four have been released on bond. Police did not suggest that anyone was being held against their will, and the state suspended the daycare’s license.
The charges are allegations, and no one has been convicted. Carla could not be reached for comment, and the state public defender’s office does not comment on pending cases. She is due in court on Jan. 2.
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