Mother Discovers Her Son Strapped To A Car And Locked In Daycare Closet

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A parent’s worst nightmare? Realizing that someone they trust is mistreating their child. This, unfortunately, recently became a reality for one mother in Alabama.

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Phenix City mom, Sydney Zimmerman, was recently shocked to find her baby boy trapped inside a daycare closet. Yes, you read that right. Zimmerman's son, Slade, at only 22 months old, was left locked inside a closet at his facility of care.

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According to Yahoo, Zimmerman picked up her son from daycare earlier than her usual pick time. But rather than finding her son happily playing with the other kids or napping, she found him trapped in a closet. Worst of all? There wasn’t any air conditioning.

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What’s more, Slade was strapped to a car seat that was not his. According to Zimmerman, her child merely looked at her when she opened the door. He then cried out for her, saying, “Mama.”

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Zimmerman spoke to WTVM about the incident with tears rolling down her face. The young mom said that after she rescued her child, she called the police. “He could have overheated and died,” she tearfully told WTVM.

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The young mother continued: "I followed her in and then she goes to the closet, opens the closet door, turns the light on and my son is sitting there strapped in a car seat that is not his and the first thing he says when he sees me is ‘mama.’"

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Before police arrived at the scene, daycare owner Cindy Duman told Zimmerman that employee, Mary Pruett, put Slade in the closet because he didn’t want to take a nap. Now, Zimmerman fears this wasn’t the first time baby Slade was locked in the closet at the facility.

#8 "She's all...sometimes he doesn't want to take a nap. Sometimes he doesn't this or that,” Zimmerman said. “This tells me sometimes this happens."

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Upon arrival, police launched an investigation into the daycare center. To Zimmerman’s surprise — and perhaps the surprise of other parents — the facility was operating without a license. In other words, it was being run illegally.

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Unsurprisingly, Zimmerman plans to press charges against the daycare for child endangerment, child neglect, and operating a business without a license, Yahoo reports. “I don’t wish this on anyone,” the young mother told WTVM.

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Meanwhile, Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones said the observations were concerning and most certainly related to endangering the welfare of a child.

“Certainly, placing a 22-month-old, 21-month-old child in car seat in a dark closet, which had a lack of ventilation, that’s of grave concern to us as it should be to anyone,” he told WRBL News.

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After meeting the daycare’s owner, Jones began to believe that this was, in fact, not the first item toddler had been locked in the closet. Seemingly, Jones began to see the closet.

According to the report, its as messy, very warm, and had no air conditioning vents.

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As a result, three people have been arrested and charged with one count of endangering welfare of a child. According to WRBL News, the three arrested were: Cynthia Human, 45, Mary Parette, 66, and Jennifer Parette, 26.

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Nell Finley, a case manager for the Child Care Resource Center, opened up to WRBL News about how all home daycares must be licensed through DHR and have a business license. Seemingly, Finley advises that parents do their homework when seeking out a facility for childcare. Not only are parents urged to ask if the facility is licensed, they should also inquire about the experience of the provider.

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“It’s very crucial for parents to feel comfortable on their jobs when they leave their children,” Finley told WRBL News. “It is very important for parents to know their children are left in a safe environment that they don’t have to worry about their children while on their jobs, away at school or whatever causes them to be away from their children.”

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