A worker accused of injuring a toddler at a Downers Grove daycare was fired and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating after the boy's mother captured some of what happened on her cell phone.
During nap time last Friday, DeMecia Rhodes said she decided to check on her son, Denim, through an internal window at KinderCare on Highland Avenue.
Rhodes said what she saw a worker doing left her horrified.
"She had him by his arm and leg, and she threw him down on the cot," Rhodes said.
Rhodes said she recorded some of what happened on her cell phone.
"She ended up pulling up covers and putting it over his head … she was smothering him," Rhodes said. "She proceeded to put all of her body weight on top of him, and then she ended up sitting on top of his head. I could not believe what I was seeing."
Rhodes said she didn't confront the worker but instead shared the video with higher-ups.
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"It took everything in me not to bum-rush into the room," she said, "because I knew due to my color, the situation would be handled differently … and they would try to sweep it under the rug."
Rhodes said she called the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Downers Grove police and took her son to the hospital.
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"Everything was on his right side of his face, it was swollen – he had bruising on his back," she said. "He was saying 'hurt' on his ribs."
DCFS told NBC 5 via email that it has an ongoing investigation regarding this incident.
In a statement KinderCare said "nothing is more important to us than children's safety. We take all concerns about the quality of our programs and our teachers seriously. This teacher was terminated immediately, and the actions that occurred last week do not reflect our company values nor the standards we hold our teachers to."
Rhodes has taken a leave of absence from work. She said her son will not be going back to the daycare.
