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A Colorado Springs daycare owner was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of hiding more than two dozen children behind a false wall leading to her basement.
Carla Faith was licensed through the Department of Human Services (DHS) but was only allowed to care for six children at a time at her Mountain Play Place private daycare.
Only two of them were allowed to be under two years of age according to the terms of her license.
Carla Faith, the owner of a Colorado daycare was sentenced to six years behind bars, two years after authorities discovered 26 toddlers stashed behind a fake wall put up in the basement of her business.https://trib.al/5VbDVB7— New York Daily News (@New York Daily News) 1634997126
But in November 2019, law enforcement—responding to a tip submitted to DHS alleging Faith was caring for too many children—discovered she had 25 children locked in her basement.
Twelve of them were under the age of 2.
You can watch a news report here.
On Thursday—after hearing from the parents of the victims their children suffered from sleep issues and anxiety from their trauma—a judge issued Faith a six-year prison sentence for attempting to influence a public servant and concurrent ten-month sentences for 26 counts of child abuse.
Many on Twitter found her punishment to be insufficient.
Six years? That's it??— \ud835\udc03\ud835\udc32\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc0b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc11\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc32 (@\ud835\udc03\ud835\udc32\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc27\ud835\udc27 \ud835\udc0b\ud835\udc1e\ud835\udc11\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc32) 1634924925
A daycare owner who hid 26 kids behind a false wall in her basement was sentenced to 6 years in prison https://news.yahoo.com/daycare-owner-hid-26-kids-035909358.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr\u00a0\u2026 via @YahooNews \n\nonly 6 years? crimes against innocent kids should all draw life without parole— john davis (@john davis) 1635011221
6 years is laughable, people get more time for a little bit of weed.— Never Forget \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udde2\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\udf0a (@Never Forget \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83e\udde2\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83d\uddfd\ud83c\udf0a) 1635092879
6 years for 26 toddlers is a gentle tap on the knuckles, no? Am I missing a mitigating factor?— Anke Koning (@Anke Koning) 1635004391
KRDO-TV reported there were two adult supervisors at the in-home daycare. One of them, Valerie Fresquez, accepted a plea deal and testified at Faith's trial.
Christina Swauger, another employee at Play Mountain Place, told an officer she was not employed by Faith and was a friend.
Swauger's deception led to her being found guilty of attempting to influence a public servant and obstructing a peace officer.
She was also found guilty on 26 counts of misdemeanor child abuse.
There should be an investigation team that makes sure all Daycares are double checked because of this!— Halo \ud83d\ude07 Divine \u2600\ufe0fParadise\ud83c\udf3a (@Halo \ud83d\ude07 Divine \u2600\ufe0fParadise\ud83c\udf3a) 1635122414
Faith repeatedly told an investigating police officer there were no children inside her home and there was no basement.
When she asked the officers if they had a search warrant, they told her one was not needed since they were doing a welfare check and the health and safety of children was in question.
Another officer discovered the fake wall and moved it to reveal the spiral staircase leading to the basement Faith denied having.
According to the arrest affidavit, many of the children found hidden in the basement had wet or soiled diapers and were sweaty and thirsty.
Is this a story about a bad actor in the child care field or is it a story about a broad failure of the United States to help make child care affordable and safe?https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daycare-false-wall-owner-sentenced_n_6173d4ade4b079111a57ab27\u00a0\u2026— Erik the Rural Juror (@Erik the Rural Juror) 1635122357
Kim Marshall, one of the parents of the victims, said both of her children continue to need counseling.
Said, Marshall:
"We sleep with the lights on in our house. My kids are anxious. They are fearful of the world."
Faith's lawyer, Josh Tolini, said his client had a difficult time saying "no" to parents insisting on having their children placed under her care and the situation "snowballed."
Tolini added Faith made some "incredibly poor decisions about how to do this."