Parents file lawsuits against Sweet Angels Daycare

Apr. 22—Parents of some of the children who attended the former Sweet Angels Daycare of Newfane have filed civil lawsuits against ownership of the childcare center and some of its former employees.

In total, seven mothers whose children attended the former Newfane childcare center each filed separate lawsuits against Sweet Angels as well as former employees Karon Anterline, Alexis Cleveley, Magdalynn Tibbets and Victoria Stanton.

Several of the mothers, including Mallory Bumpers-Wojewoda and Kathy Chenez-Stefanko, decided to file the civil action against the daycare and former employees because they were overall disappointed with the New York State Police's handling of the investigation and the plea deals the three former employees received.

"It's going to prove the negligence side," Bumpers-Wojewoda said. "It was never just about the criminal side. Our kids were abused."

The mothers said they first had concerns last year when their children started to behave abnormally. Those concerns were heightened when their children came home with bruises.

Bumpers-Wojewoda said she approached the leadership of Sweet Angels about similar abuse of her daughter and was led to believe that it was the child's fault.

Following that, both moms removed their children from the daycare and filed reports with the Office of Children and Family Services and state police.

Along the way, Bumpers-Wojewoda and Chenez-Stefanko said, they came into contact with about a dozen other parents who had similar experiences and subsequently pulled their children out of the daycare.

The ensuing investigation into the daycare center is what led to the arrest of the three former employees.

Stanton, 22, Anterline, 66, and Cleveley, 22, all originally faced charges of endangering the welfare of a child. They all took similar plea deals in Newfane Town Court, which included reduced charges of harassment in the second degree, orders of protection against the children, fines and community service.

Even after the sentencing, the parents said they have been left with more questions than answers from several of the state investigative authorities.

Chenez-Stefanko said there was a lack of communication among the state agencies between themselves and the parents.

Throughout the investigation, she said there were multiple calls, emails and Freedom of Information Law Requests that went unanswered.

"I don't know how we would have done anything differently because we literally did it textbook because there was no communication. We had to do research on our own and then go back and ask questions and play tag and still not get really good answers," she said.

In the wake of the investigation, Sweet Angels closed its Newfane location on Dec. 29 due to "charges filed against former employees as well as demographic and staffing challenges."

Frank LoTempio III, who represents Sweet Angels and owner Kelly Doel, said he believes that any of these lawsuits brought on by the parents whose children attended the Newfane location are "defensible."

"I wrote a cease and desist letter to a number of parents and non-parents that really raised an unjustifiable hell on us," LoTempio said.

He contends that the daycare has been compliant throughout the state police's investigation.

"Whatever they needed, we provided and my client has been doing this for a very, very long time, has a solid reputation in this community and it seems that this Newfane center, one of a number of these centers, is the only one where there's ever been a problem," LoTempio said.

The parents, however, contend that their actions are justified and that the abuse their children suffered continues to have lasting impacts.

"People have said, 'Let your kid be a kid.' ...They took that away from us. They took our babies and put thoughts into their heads about how we don't love them, (and that) we hate them. We don't even say these people's names in our house. We never have," Bumpers-Wojewoda said.

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