Five daycare workers arrested over viral video showing them terrifying small children with a Halloween mask

Five daycare workers were arrested and criminally charged after a video showed them terrifying small children with a Halloween mask went viral online.

Parents and others were incensed at the video showing a worker wearing a frightening mask and terrifying the small children. At one point in the two-minute video, she chased one of the horrified children.

The video went viral with millions of views. It was recorded at Lil’ Blessings Daycare in the town of Hamilton, Mississippi, on October 4.

Sheriff Kevin Crook of Monroe County in Mississippi said that four of the workers were facing three counts of felony child abuse and a fifth worker was charged with two 2 misdemeanors, including simple assault against a minor.

The owner of the center was not charged and she said she did not know about the incident until after it happened. She also said that kind of behavior was not tolerated at the center and that four employees had been fired over the incident.

Some of the parents defended the daycare despite their objections to what happened on the video.

“Was the situation that did happen horrible? Absolutely," said Kimberly Smith to the Associated Press.

"But should this daycare be shut down and others be villainized that are still here, absolutely not," she added.

Another parent pointed out that it was the only daycare in the unincorporated community of Hamilton and hastily shutting it down would be a real hardship for many parents.

"A lot of people are saying, ‘Shut it down. Shut it down,’ but I don’t think they’re thinking about the implications that that might have," Chas Allen said to the Monroe Journal.

But others weren't as forgiving.

"I hope you're enjoying jail," said Katelyn Johnson, one of the mothers of a child involved. She said that her 2-year-old son still had trouble sleeping at night and showed signs of trauma.

"And I hope you realize what you've done. It's serious, and it's not a joke, and it's nothing to laugh at," she concluded.

Here's a local news report about the charges:

Day care workers who scared kids with "Scream" mask charged with abusewww.youtube.com