INDIAN MOUND, Tenn. (WTVF) — Four daycare workers are under arrest accused of dosing children in their care to sleep.
Deputies with the sheriff's office in Stewart County, Tennessee served a search warrant at Mimi's Child Care on 373 Peachers Lane in Indian Mound.
Parents had complained that their children were lethargic and/or had health-related issues after staying at the licensed in-home daycare.
Investigators say some parents also told them that their kids would not go to sleep at night because they were apparently sleeping all day at the daycare.
The allegation is that staffers at the daycare were giving the children — infants to 6-year-olds — the sleep-aid Melatonin without the parents' consent.
Melatonin is a hormone regulated by the FDA that can be used as a sleep aid, but in some cases, it can cause nausea, headaches, bed-wetting, and stomach pains in children
Among the four arrested, 45-year-old Jaime Clark is charged with child abuse/neglect, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and tampering with evidence. Kristin Clark, 21, is charged with child abuse/neglect and tampering with evidence. Jordan Darnell, 22 is charged with child abuse/neglect and tampering with evidence. Ethan Pulley, 21, is charged with tampering with evidence.
Sheriff Frankie Gray said this involved at least 26 children over two or more years.
There are no reports of any children becoming seriously ill, but Sheriff Gray says parents should always be consulted before giving children any type of medication or sleep aid. He asks that anyone who had children at MiMi's Child Care call the sheriff's office.
The daycare is now closed and the state also is investigating.
