Dec. 25 -- Negligence claims lodged by nine parents of children who once attended Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane are moving slowly through the state court system. Litigation, which got underway in April, followed plea deals accepted by two former Sweet Angels employees charged with one or more counts of 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 had attended the daycare center. In March, Alexis Cleveley pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree harassment in a case involving another child. In all, three then-employees including Karon Anterline had been accused of child endangerment in September 2023, following a New York State Police investigation of parents' complaints that their children were physically or mentally abused at the daycare center. Sweet Angels-Newfane was shut down by its owner, Kelly Doel, in late December 2023.
Nine parents, all represented by the Buffalo-based law firm Cantor, Wolff, Nicastro & Hall, filed suit against Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane Inc. and four former employees on April 19, claiming negligence. The employees include one who was not 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 the parents' response to systemic indifference about what happened to their children.
Anterline, Stanton and Cleveley all ended up pleading guilty to second-degree harassment and were required to acknowledge, in open court, that they had acted "with intent to harass, annoy or alarm" their victims and "did strike, shove, kick or otherwise subject (their victims) to physical contact, or attempt or threaten to do the same." For that, each one was ordered to pay a $125 or $250 fine and complete 50 or 100 hours of community service. Two-year orders of protection were issued for each affected child and each defendant agreed to waive the sealing of their case.
On top of that light penalty, Wojewoda and Stefanko said, their experience with New York State Police and the state Office of Children and Family Services left a lot to be desired. During and after the investigation, those agencies didn't communicate with them, the moms said; multiple phone calls, emails and even FOIL requests went unanswered.
The parents' negligence claims are driven by their dismay with the fact that nobody has truly been held accountable for what happened to their children, according to Wojewoda. "It was never just about the criminal side. Our kids were abused," she said.
Documents on file with 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 attorney for the former employees filed a request for a preliminary hearing in November; and Sweet Angels-Newfane Inc. is seeking, from 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 by people interviewed about affiliates and employees of Sweet Angels Daycare and/or nine juveniles who were allegedly abused.
Meanwhile, three parents of children who attended Sweet Angels Daycare and Preschool in North Tonawanda filed negligence claims against Daycares of WNY Inc. in early August. They too are represented by Cantor, Wolff, Nicastro & Hall.
The daycare center on Erie Avenue was closed by the owner, Kelly Doel, in May, after OCFS cited it for a series of violations -- including the use of corporal punishment, confining a child to a sleeping surface when they're unable to sleep during nap time and leaving children without "competent" supervision -- and North Tonawanda Police Department completed an investigation.
Doel's daughter Savanna E. Huntington, who worked at Sweet Angels-NT, was charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child in September.