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TAYLORSVILLE — A day care employee in Taylorsville was charged Friday with abusing a young boy.
Lionela Margarita Romero-Sayago, 63, of Millcreek, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 16, the parents of a 3-year-old boy took him to Primary Children's Hospital after picking him up at his day care center and noticing injuries. A police officer then went to the day care center where he was provided pictures of the injuries "which showed several red abrasions or bruises on the child's armpit, torso and neck," according to charging documents.
The day care director told police that the boy had "soiled himself" and an employee had bathed him to clean him off, according to the charges.
A detective later reviewed surveillance video from the day care that showed Romero-Sayago, after realizing that the boy had had an accident, "grabbing him by the arm and roughly yanking him up from a table. Romero-Sayago then grabs (the boy) by his hair and pulls his head down toward the table. Romero-Sayago then pulls (the boy) into the bathroom where (he) can be heard crying," the charges state.
The boy begins to scream "loudly" as an adult yells at him, the video shows, and then runs "naked out of the bathroom and lands on the floor trying to get away. Romero-Sayago then drags (the boy) back into the bathroom while he continues crying," according to the charges.
Police say the video also shows other day care personnel looking at the boy's injuries and arguing in Spanish. When questioned, Romero-Sayago denied grabbing the boy by his arm or head, "despite this being shown on video," the charges say.
Although court documents do not directly identify the day care center, prosecutors have requested that if Romero-Sayago is able to post bail that she have no contact with the "employees or owner of the Smart Kids Daycare." She is also not allowed to "work as a babysitter or day care provider in any setting" pending trial.
Katia Lopez, an administrator for Smart Kids, says Romero-Sayago is no longer employed at the day care and that she was "immediately fired" for pulling the boy's hair.
"This is a lamentable incident that happened six months ago. We collaborated with the police and offered all our videos. We thrive to always offer quality education and background check(s) to all employees, but we can't control their actions sadly," Lopez said in a prepared statement.
But according to Lopez, the video does not show Romero-Sayago hitting the child.
"She put him to shower because he was soiled, and the marks are from the child rubbing against the square plastic bathtub (line marks) and her forcing him to stay. I need to clarify that the child has a documented history of throwing himself and beating his head to the floor. Also, the video shows the child smiling and playing with the same teacher after the shower."
Lopez says the boy's parents were contacted immediately and remain one of Smart Kids' clients today, but at a different location.
