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Background: The Learning Experience daycare in St. Charles, Illinois (WBBM/YouTube). Inset: Yizel Juarez (St. Charles Police Department).
A daycare educator in Illinois is facing allegations of distributing laxatives to toddlers under the guise of candy.
At 23, Yizel Juarez has been charged with three counts of attempted aggravated battery resulting in harm to minors under 13 and for risking the welfare of a child, both of which are considered misdemeanors.
The St. Charles Police Department reported that on Tuesday around 9:45 a.m., they were alerted by “multiple parents” about their children, who attend The Learning Experience daycare in St. Charles, being given chewable laxatives by one of the teachers.
Police officers conducted an investigation and “confirmed the incidents had occurred,” according to the authorities.
All affected children were aged 2 years or younger, the police department further noted.
Juarez was identified as the suspect, and after police consulted with the Kane County State”s Attorney’s Office, the charges were brought against her. She turned herself in, police said, and was released from custody.
“My child was still suffering from constipation, which the doctor said it was gonna be a side effect of the laxatives, of coming off of laxatives” one of the affected children’s parents told Chicago-based CBS affiliate WBBM. Her child was just 17 months old.
The parent reportedly added that her child has been suffering from diarrhea for two months, and doctor visits and switching the toddler’s formula did not fix the problem.
“We thought it could have been a virus, and that was negative,” the mother added. “We found out from the director that she had fired her employee because she allegedly was giving them these laxatives and saying that it was candy so that they could get sent home because she was overwhelmed.”
“It’s disgusting. Get another job then,” the mother added, according to the regional outlet.
Police said Juarez has an upcoming court date, though it is presently unclear when exactly that appearance is scheduled.
Police are asking anyone else with information about the alleged crimes to come forward and speak with them.