Abusive swaddling: Two sisters are accused of abusing children at a Bay Area day care by swaddling them too tight, nearly suffocating them, according to reports.
Alamedia County prosecutors charged Lida Sharaf, 33, and Nazila Sharaf, 35, with three charges of felony child neglect and four misdemeanor charges of child abuse and neglect, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Their day care, Universal Preschool LCC on Florence Road in Livermore, was shut down by the state after the alleged abuse surfaced.
“This was not a case of mere swaddling but a case of abuse and neglect where the victims were being restrained,” police said.
A 19-year-old worker reportedly “quit in disgust” and told authorities that children there were being restrained improperly.
“Two of the daycare facility employees were binding at least seven of the children’s upper torso and legs with blankets and other cloth type materials in order to restrict the child’s movement during naptimes,” reads a press release from the Liverpool Police Department, according to Patch.com.
It added: “The suspects tightly wrapped the victims with blankets and other cloth material, which were secured with knots. The tightly wrapped cloth material restricted the victim’s ability to breathe comfortably and move their extremities.”
The victims ranged between the ages of seven months and 11 months old. Three of the babies suffered from respiratory problems and the two sisters were aware of it, according to authorities.
“They basically restrained these children, almost like a boa constrictor,” Officer Steve Goard told the San Jose Mercury News. “All of these children could have died in the process of binding these extremities.”
