A daycare center in Texas is now under investigation after a disturbing video surfaced of an employee mistreating a little Black girl, as her classmates watched from their seats.
According to local NBC affiliate WLBT, Friday, footage that police say was recorded a few weeks ago, at the My Little Playhouse Learning Center went viral. The clip shows a woman – now identified Kay Kae Rangel – forcing a young girl to stand, while her classmates sat and ate. As the girl becomes tired and attempts to rest her head on the table, Rangel is seen roughly yanking her by her hair, demanding that she eat while standing up.
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Throughout the video, a second employee can be heard laughing as they record Rangel continuing to manhandle the child. Once the video went viral both women were quickly identified and now Rangel, and her accomplice Makenzie Sedeno have been terminated.
In addition to firing the duo, the owners and directors of the daycare said local authorities have been notified and will be looking into the incident.
“The owners and Directors of My Little Playhouse Learning Center LLC were made aware of video footage posted on social media at approximately 11:45 a.m,” read their official statement. “Staff involved were fired immediately. Local authorities (LPD) has been notified and are investigating accordingly. Texas Department of Childcare Licensing has also been notified.”
Rangel has since taken to Facebook to defend herself against the public backlash.
“Stop requesting me and sending me msgs idgaf who got wtf to say about me or my kids!,” she said in the expletive-ridden post that appears to be devoid of any real punctuation or grammar.
Not only is Rengal not remorseful, she even created an Instagram post showcasing the video with the caption, “#worldstar”
As for the child’s family, her grandmother, Shanna Walker says she viewed the video just minutes before picking her up from the daycare and was understandably dismayed.
“I was furious. My initial reaction was to come and snatch her head off her body,” said Walker. “It’s very frightening.”
Walker believes child care employees are “supposed to be people that are taking care of [the kids]” and says her granddaughter did nothing to deserve the treatment she received.
“I know that everyone thinks that their grandchildren are the best,” she admits. “But this little girl, she is the sweetest little girl that you could ever know. And she’s very quiet and very timid. So, for her to sit there and just to pull on her hair – it’s very infuriating. I mean I’m standing here right now, feeling like I’m about to boil over.”