Dec. 25 – Negligence claims filed by nine parents of children who once attended Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane are slowly moving through the state court system. The trial, which began in April, followed plea deals accepted by two former Sweet Angels employees charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
In January, Victoria Stanton pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree harassment in connection with her actions toward two children who attended daycare. In March, Alexis Cleveley pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment in a case involving another child. A total of three then-employees, including Karon Anterline, had been charged with child endangerment in September 2023, following a New York State Police investigation into parents’ complaints that their children had been physically or mentally abused at the daycare center. Sweet Angels-Newfane was closed at the end of December 2023 by its owner, Kelly Doel.
Nine parents, all represented by the Buffalo-based law firm Cantor, Wolff, Nicastro & Hall, filed suit against Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane Inc. on April 19. and four former employees, for negligence. The employees include one who has not been charged with any crimes.
Mallory Bumpers-Wojewoda and Kathy Chenez-Stanko, who emerged this year as leaders of a growing group of upset parents, said the lawsuits are parents’ response to systemic indifference about what happened to their children.
Anterline, Stanton and Cleveley all eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and had to admit in open court that they had acted “with the intent to harass, annoy or alarm their victims” and “that they had hit, pushed, kicked or alarmed. otherwise subject (their victims) to physical contact, or attempt or threaten to do the same.” For that, each was sentenced to pay a fine of $125 or $250 and serve 50 or 100 hours of community service. For each affected child, protection orders of two year and each defendant agreed to waive the sealing of their case.
In addition to that light sentence, Wojewoda and Stefanko said, their experience with the New York State Police and the state Office of Children and Family Services left much to be desired. During and after the investigation, these agencies did not communicate with them, the mothers said; multiple phone calls, emails and even FOIL requests went unanswered.
The parents’ claims of negligence are motivated by their dismay that no one has really been held accountable for what happened to their children, Wojewoda said. “It was never just about the criminal side. Our children were abused,” she said.
Records at the Niagara County Clerk’s Office show that Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane Inc. and the four former employees, including Magdalynn Tibbets, formally denied the parents’ claims in August; the former employees’ attorney filed a request for a preliminary hearing in November; and Sweet Angels-Newfane Inc. requests from the State Police, the Niagara County District Attorney’s Office and the Child Advocacy Center of Niagara any reports, interview notes, evaluations and correspondence or statements from people interviewed regarding affiliates and employees of Sweet Angels Daycare and/or nine youth who would have been abused.
Meanwhile, three parents of children attending Sweet Angels Daycare and Preschool in North Tonawanda filed negligence claims against Daycares of WNY Inc. in early August. They are also represented by Cantor, Wolff, Nicastro & Hall.
The daycare on Erie Avenue was closed in May by its owner, Kelly Doel, after OCFS cited it for a series of violations — including the use of corporal punishment, confining a child to a sleeping surface when he or she cannot sleep during naps and children leaving without “competent” supervision – and the North Tonawanda Police Department has completed an investigation.
Doel’s daughter Savanna E. Huntington, who worked at Sweet Angels-NT, was charged in September with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
