More than half a dozen parents sue Sweet Angels daycare over allegations of negligence

NEWFANE N.Y. (WIVB) - The former Sweet Angels Daycare in Newfane is facing more legal trouble as parents sue the owners for negligence.

Seven mothers filed separate civil lawsuits against the owners of Sweet Angels Daycare and several of its former employees.

Mothers Mallory Bumpers-Wojewoda and Kathy Chenez Stefanko enrolled their children at Sweet Angels daycare in Newfane. They noticed their children started acting differently and in some cases would come home with bruises. This prompted a police investigation.

Former employees 66-year-old Karon Anterline, 22 year-olds Alexis Cleveley and Victoria Stanton were all arrested on child endangerment charges. They each took similar plea deals to reduce their sentences and were charged with harassment, orders of protection, fines and community service.

"It's frustrating. It's very frustrating and the negligence that went on behind closed doors there, is disgusting. It is absolutely disgusting," Bumpers-Wojewoda said.

Bumpers-Wojewoda and Stefanko each filed a civil lawsuit against the daycare. They tell News 4 they want to hold the daycare responsible for the pain their children have been through and continue to go through more than a year after the abuse happened.

"Just because the criminal side is over, it's never going to officially be over in our children," Bumpers-Wojewoda said. "They have lasting effects of what happened to them and at 4 and 5 years old, it's not fair to them. It's not fair to any of us."

"From the information that has come out for the last 14 months, this is not just a Newfane problem," Chenez Stefanko said.

The mothers want justice for their children.

"It's definitely still a daily struggle, even them not being in daycare facility anymore," Chenez Stefanko said.

"All of us have uprooted our lives of what it once was to catering to counseling appointments. Our lives are completely different then what it was two years ago," Bumpers-Wojewoda said.

News 4 spoke to Attorney Frank LoTempio III, who is representing Sweet Angels Daycare, Inc., which has several locations in Niagara County and one location in Erie County. LoTempio III says his client has been "very forthright" and compliant throughout the investigation. He says his client has operated daycares for 20 years without incident and that the allegations stem from the Newfane location that has since closed down.

He says his law firm has also sent cease and desist letters to a number of parents and community members.