North Texas parents sue preschool, teacher for alleged child abuse of 3-year-old
A North Texas preschool is being sued after one its teachers pleaded guilty to the 2023 abuse of a 3-year-old that occurred at the campus.
The lawsuit was filed by the McCathern Law Firm on Monday in a Denton County district court.
The defendants named in the suit are Parker-Chase Preschool in Carrollton, its parent company Endeavor Schools LLC, and the former teacher, Nyomi Reyes.
Parents Vanessa Ippolito and Joseph Musselman are seeking over $1 million to recover damages for the “severe injuries” sustained by their 3-year-old child, the suit says.
The abuse around March 10, 2023, when Ippolito and Musselman found marks on their son’s skin, according to the suit.
When Musselman picked up the boy at the school that day, he was told the 3-year-old was talking back in class. When he took him home, the father discovered “significant markings” on the child’s buttocks, according to the plaintiffs’ account.
The parents decided to send the child back to the preschool as they considered the marks could have been caused by roughhousing on the playground, the suit says.
However, the next evening, they again noticed new markings on the child, but they were worse and widespread, according to the suit.
The injuries occurred while the 3-year-old was in the care, custody and control of Parker-Chase Preschool, the parents said.
As a result of the abuse and failure to notify the parents of the child’s injuries sustained at the school, they have “lost their faith” in schools, the suit reads. Ippolito withdrew both of her children from Parker-Chase and is having them home-schooled instead.
“Ms. Ippolito has been traumatized by the whole experience,” the suit says.
The Texas Department of Family Protective Services and Carrollton police opened an investigation of the abuse, confirming a finding of child abuse at the school caused by Reyes. She was arrested and charged with injury to a child.
Despite Reyes’ arrest, the parents said, the school never contacted the family regarding the incident or the developments in Reyes’ case.
Reyes pleaded guilty to the charge this week, according to a news release from the McCathern Law Firm.
“This abuse is widespread and made possible by Endeavor Schools’ lack of appropriate policies and procedures. Our hope with this lawsuit is to bring awareness and force change in the private preschool system, starting with this Defendant,” said Noah McCathern, the parents’ attorney.
The Parker-Chase Preschool failed to follow its policies on not permitting spanking or physical abuse of a child at the campus, according to the lawsuit. The school also did not follow its policy on notifying parents if and when an act of abuse occurs, the suit says.
In a statement sent to the Star-Telegram, Endeavor Schools said it first learned of the abuse when contacted by the plaintiffs’ attorneys. School officials immediately reported the matter to authorities and ultimately dismissed Reyes from her position, according to the statement.
“We take any claim seriously and have zero tolerance for any behavior that does not align with our high standards for care. The safety and wellbeing of the children in our care remains our highest priority, and we have not found any evidence that would substantiate the allegations made against the teacher,” the parent company said in the statement.
