Employees Lock 3-Year-Old Girl in Daycare All Alone, She Suffers from Nightmares Afterward

When parents arrived to collect their daughter from daycare, they were outraged by what they discovered. Their three-year-old child was locked inside—and she suffered shocking consequences.

Employees looking after children must take extra precautions to ensure their safety. Little ones are vulnerable and often find themselves in potentially dangerous situations.

The unthinkable happened in Wallingford, Connecticut, when staff members at the daycare were negligent. Read one little girl's story, and discover why her parents called 911.

THE DAYCARE WAS EMPTY

Bernadette Sorbo was surprised when she received a phone call from her ex-husband, Timothy McWade, in 2017. He was picking up their daughter, Aubrie, and needed a code to enter the building because nobody was there to open it for him.

The YMCA daycare on the Choate-Rosemary Hall's Campus was empty and quiet, so McWade wondered where his daughter was, but he could never have imagined what he was about to see.

SHE WAS IN THE BATHROOM

McWade walked around looking for his child before deciding to check the bathroom in her classroom. He found his little girl in the toilet, to his shock and horror.

The presumed safe place for children failed Aubrie and her parents, and the experience scared Sorbo.

She needed to be cleaned up, and he was at a loss for words. McWade couldn't fathom where the daycare workers were and contacted authorities to report the incident. Emotions ran high as he struggled to make sense of the situation. On the 911 call, he said:

"This is ridiculous. My three-year-old daughter is sitting on the toilet and all their workers left."

THEY NEVER REALIZED SHE WAS MISSING

Sorbo arrived at the daycare to clean and console her crying child. She recalled the disturbing memory and said:

"It could have been hours that she was sitting on that toilet, and no one even knew that she was there."

The mother was confused about how the staff left the daycare without looking at a sign-out sheet and never realized Aubrie was missing. She added:

"They're saying that it was a systematic error and I don't understand how that can be when you're watching children."

YMCA CONDUCTED AN INVESTIGATION

Sean Doherty, the executive director of the Wallingford YMCA, responded to the incident stating that it was their mission to protect and promote children's development while meeting their needs.

He said they were doing everything to prevent this from happening again and added that they were in the process of conducting an investigation. Doherty noted:

"We believe in the core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility."

THE MOTHER WANTED THINGS TO CHANGE

Officials from Wallingford YMCA asked Sorbo what they could do to remedy the situation. The mother appreciated the opportunity to engage with them and believed they would take her suggestions to heart.

There was a recommendation to install new cameras. Sorbo also had an idea she hoped would enhance safety measures. She said:

"When a teacher loses track of someone, a child could just run out and push out. So maybe some kind of door where it's not as easy for a child to get out."

THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INCIDENT

Wallingford YMCA revealed that the three individuals linked to the incident would not be working with children at their sites again. However, it was unclear whether they were fired or still held other positions in different departments.

The parent community hoped daycare workers would take extra precautions in the future, but for Sorbo, it would take time to trust again. She also witnessed the harrowing incident's devastating impact on her child. Sorbo shared:

"[My daughter] was up all night crying and upset about it. She would wake up in the middle of her sleep screaming for me or her dad and that was upsetting."

IT WAS A SCARY EXPERIENCE

The presumed safe place for children failed Aubrie and her parents, and the experience scared Sorbo. She stated:

"That was scary. [My daughter is] not going back there, and as for daycare-wise—I don't know if I can ever trust someone else with my children again."

Police said the incident didn't warrant any criminal charges, but the parents wanted justice for their child. Aubrie's parents felt awful and angry after the experience and purportedly only received a half-hearted apology.

What do you think about the daycare's actions, and do you think their response to the incident was sufficient, considering a child's life was placed in danger?

Click here for another story about a toddler found locked inside her daycare. The mother was distraught after discovering her child had been left alone.